Worth Fighting For
by melody's muse
Summary: COMPLETE! A brutal attack on Buffy brings Angel back to Sunnydale. Someone wants the slayer dead. Angel intends to find out who…and destroy them. Set in the summer of 2000. Alternate S4. Veers a bit off-canon after "Pangs" and late S1 of AtS. B/A
1. Slayer Down

**Disclaimer:** The only thing that's mine is the story itself. The characters, ideas, and everything else from Buffyverse all belong to Joss Whedon, who is a genius. Me? I'm just a simple fangirl who really loves to write, merely borrowing his characters and setting for the purpose of my own amusement. ;)

Thanks for clicking on my story! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy. :)

* * *

He remembered the last time he carried her to the emergency room. It wasn't a moment he was particularity proud of. After all, he had been the one to put her there in the first place. The thought of losing her, the thought of Buffy actually _dying_ and knowing that it was his fault, would have been a terrible burden to bear.

But Buffy had survived, just like she always had. She was a fighter. She had already died once, came back, then faced near death again several more times. And Buffy still survived.

He wasn't sure if she would be so fortunate this time.

Angel felt a deep sense of dread as he rushed through the double doors of the hospital. He knew it was going to take much more than just a couple of pints of O- to return her back to normal, and that terrified Angel more than anything.

"I need some help here!" he shouted desperately.

A doctor and two nurses were ready and waiting with a gurney, and Angel carefully placed her on it.

"How long has she been out?" asked the doctor as he began to check her vitals.

"I-I don't know. She was unconscious when I found her." Angel looked down at Buffy on the gurney, his heart breaking at the sight of her wounded form. Her bruised body lay motionless. Her golden hair matted with blood. Her beautiful face battered and beaten. "Buffy? Buffy, please wake up," he pleaded, reaching for her hand and checking for her pulse. It was there, but just barely. "She's going to be okay, right?"

The doctor gave Angel a quick but sympathetic look. "We'll do everything we can. Let's get her to CT." He turned his attention to one of the nurses. "Lydia, get an OR ready. And page Dr. Drake. We've got a head injury."

Angel's head shot up. "Head injury? How bad is it?"

But the doctor ignored his question and began to wheel Buffy away. Angel rushed back to her side, not wanting to leave her. He reached for her hand again and listened to the other nurse as she rattled off Buffy's stats to the doctor. "You're going to be okay, Buffy," he said, hoping that some small part of her would hear him.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait here," ordered the nurse as she blocked Angel's path.

"Please, let me go with her. I need to be with her."

"Sorry, this area is restricted. We'll keep you updated."

Angel watched helplessly as Buffy disappeared behind the double doors. The ER was quiet now, and Angel stood in the middle of the room alone, silently praying for her to survive one more time.

* * *

It was the call Giles always feared he would get some day. As a former watcher, he had been taught to be prepared for the possibility. The life of a slayer was usually a short one, and most slayers didn't last a year. But Buffy was different. The odds had been against her since the beginning. She had never been a typical slayer, insisting on keeping a normal life and having no formal training before she was called. And yet, she survived. Buffy had beat those odds time and time again, and proven herself to be a truly gifted slayer. The possibility of her dying didn't seem real.

As he weaved in and out of traffic on his way to the hospital, Angel's words played over and over in his mind.

"_Giles…it's bad."_

The tone in the vampire's voice had said it all. _Buffy might not survive._

"Damn!" Giles cursed, and slammed on his brakes as the car in front of him came to a sudden stop. He waited impatiently for traffic to move again, then slowly eased his foot off the brake.

Giles was angry at himself, angry for not being able to prevent this. It wasn't his fault, of course, and nobody would have blamed him, but he couldn't help but feel responsible. He was her Watcher, wasn't he? Maybe not in the official capacity anymore, but he still worked hard at training Buffy. He knew the vampire activity in Sunnydale had been escalating over the last few weeks. And not just the vampires, but the demon population as well. He shouldn't have let Buffy patrol alone. He should have insisted she wait for Riley. But he hadn't. Why hadn't he insisted?

The exit to the hospital was coming up, and Giles was grateful for the blue signs along the road, showing the way. He could barely concentrate on where he was going. He turned off on the exit and his thoughts wandered to Buffy again.

How could this be happening? Just a few short hours ago, Buffy had been smiling, joking even. It was so rare to see her smile these days, especially since her mother's death a few months back. But Buffy was resilient, showing the world that no matter what life threw at her, she was always one to bounce back.

Now she was in the hospital, the one place she hated the most, fighting for her life.

* * *

"Where is she?" demanded a panicked voice.

Angel looked up to see the tall form standing over him.

Riley.

He really shouldn't hate the guy. He had never hurt Buffy. From what he had heard and seen for himself, Riley Finn was a nice, normal guy, and exactly what he wanted Buffy to have. But Angel couldn't help the pangs of jealousy he felt whenever he saw him, knowing that Buffy was in his life, in his heart, _in his bed._ Did he even _know_ how lucky he was?

"She's in surgery," Angel answered in a low voice.

Angel heard a gasp, and looking behind Riley, he saw it was Willow. Next to her was the blonde girl, but Angel couldn't remember her name.

"Angel," Willow said, moving closer and taking the seat beside him. Angel noticed the puffiness in her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?"

Angel looked from Willow to Riley, then back to Willow. "I don't know."

"Wh-what happened to her?" asked the blonde girl.

Angel looked up and met her eyes. Tara. Yes, that was her name. "I found her in the cemetery near the Bronze. She was beaten up pretty badly. One of her attackers got away, but I killed the other three."

"Was it…vampires?" Willow asked.

Angel nodded.

"How did you find her?" Riley asked. "We searched every damn cemetery in this town, including the one by the Bronze."

"Just in the right place at the right time." Angel preferred not to elaborate. He knew she would be in a cemetery from Cordelia's vision. Angel searched every one he could find until he picked up Buffy's scent. The smell of her blood had been overwhelming. That was how he found her.

"I'm going to find out what's going on," Riley said and walked over to the nurses' station.

Angel had already tried that, and it had gotten him nowhere. Getting information out of the hospital staff was like trying to pull teeth. Until Buffy was out of surgery, he doubted they'd know much of anything.

Willow sniffled, and Tara handed her a tissue from the box on the end table.

"Thanks," she said, and gave her nose a blow. "I can't believe this is happening. Angel, how bad is it?"

Angel looked into Willow's worried eyes, and honestly didn't know how to respond. He knew Buffy was her best friend. How did you break news like that to someone? How could you say to someone that it was as bad as it could get? He couldn't get the image of Buffy unconscious on the ground out of his mind.

Before he had a chance to say anything, another familiar face rushed into the emergency room.

"Angel, how is she?" Giles asked, the panic obvious in his voice despite his attempts to stay calm.

Angel looked at Giles, Willow, and Tara all staring at him for answers that he couldn't give. They all wanted one thing: hope. He wished he could say that Buffy would be just fine, that Buffy would pull through and make it. But they hadn't seen Buffy. They hadn't seen her lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. They hadn't seen her battered and beaten body.

He didn't know if she was going to be okay, and that scared him more than anything.

"They said something about a head injury," he finally said. "She's in surgery now."

Giles could no longer stand. He sank into the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands. Once again, he thought that somehow, this was all his fault.

* * *

Every time the door opened, eight pairs of eyes looked up expectantly. And every time, it would be anyone but the doctor. Buffy was still in surgery, and there was still no word on her condition.

"I can't take this anymore," Riley muttered and got up from his seat. He left the group and made his way over to the nurse's station again. He was determined to find out what was going on.

"No news is good news, right?" Xander asked hopefully.

Anya glanced at Xander and gave his hand a squeeze, her way of showing him that she was there for him. Xander gave her a weak smile. He felt numb. The news hadn't quite sunk it yet. Buffy would be just fine. She _had_ to be. There was no other option he would accept.

Willow, who had gone looking for a pay phone ten minutes ago, walked back over to the group with a somber expression.

Giles looked at her expectantly. "Willow, did you manage to get in touch with Buffy's father?"

Willow shook her head. "I called his number but I got the machine. I think he's still out of the country."

_Damn_, Giles thought to himself. Of course whenever they needed Hank Summers the most, he was no where to be found. "What about her aunt in Illinois?"

Willow shrugged. "I don't know her number. I'm sure Buffy has it in her address book. I could find it."

"No, no," Giles said, motioning for her to sit down. "We'll worry about that later. We're Buffy's family just as much as they are. More so, even. Let's just see how Buffy is doing for now." They _were_ Buffy's family, Giles thought. And Buffy was the closest thing to a daughter he ever had.

Willow sighed. She felt so helpless, and worried beyond belief. Buffy had never been this close to death's door, except for the time when she actually _did_ die, but somehow this seemed so much worse. It was going to take a lot more than a little CPR to bring her back. "I keep thinking that this isn't happening. Like this can't be real."

"I shouldn't have let her patrol by herself," Giles said.

"Oh, Giles, this isn't your fault," Willow said, looking up at the older man.

"And Buffy patrols by herself a lot of times," Tara added.

Giles took his glasses off and began his nervous habit of cleaning them. "Yes, but I should have known how dangerous it was out there. Especially since she had the run in with those Mohra demons last week. Things have been getting worse in Sunnydale."

"Can you all keep it down?" Spike complained from the corner of the room. "I can't hear the bloody Top Ten."

"How can you just _sit_ there and _watch television_?" Xander fumed as he walked over to the set and turned it off. "Buffy could be _dying _and all you care about are some stupid jokes on a late night talk show?"

"The Slayer will be just fine," Spike said with dismissive wave. He turned the television back on with the remote. "She's like that cat with nine lives. Nothing seems to kill her." If he couldn't kill her, no one could, the vampire reasoned, and killing slayers had been his specialty back in the day. Of course now he couldn't kill any humans because of the damn chip, but that was beside the point. He turned his attention back to the television and ignored Xander's glare. He wasn't about to admit he was just as worried as the rest of them.

Willow stared at Spike, wondering how he could be so cavalier about the situation, and so optimistic that Buffy would be just reminded herself that Spike didn't have a soul. Maybe he just didn't care.

Across the room and away from the group, Angel sat by himself. In L.A., he was the one running the show and calling the shots. But back in Sunnydale, he felt like an outsider again. He felt like even more of a stranger since all the new faces joined their little group: Anya, Riley, Tara, and…_Spike?_ Not that Spike wasn't a familiar face, but he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Spike was now a friend rather than a foe. Things had definitely changed.

Angel looked up as the door opened again, but it was just a nurse leaving, her shift apparently over. He hoped they would hear word on how Buffy was doing soon. He could still smell her scent on him. Looking down at his clothes, he noticed for the first time the dark stain on the front of his shirt. _Buffy's blood._ He closed his eyes, seeing again the horror of Buffy lying on the ground. Blood everywhere. He involuntarily clenched his fist, feeling angry at the vampires who did this to her.

And then, he felt angry at someone else. Himself.

He should have never left Sunnydale, he thought, and not for the first time. Hadn't he made a promise to himself to always keep her safe? Buffy needed him, and where had he been? He had wanted to give her a chance at a normal life. But had it really been any better since he left?

He broke her heart last year, and she had suffered. He knew she had. There was pain in her voice when she answered the phone. He wondered if she ever realized he was the one who called all the time only to hang up after she answered. He had only wanted to hear her voice. He hadn't wanted to hear her pain though.

Then he heard about that terrible boy who took advantage of her, from Spike no less. He seethed, thinking of how wrong it was that another man had touched her so intimately and yet, didn't even appreciate her beauty. He'd have to fight the urge to kill that boy if he ever ran into him. Was his breakup with Buffy what led her into his arms? If so, he hated himself for it.

And then there was the tragedy of her mother's death. Angel had gone to Sunnydale when he heard the news, and it pained him to leave her again. He told himself she was in good hands. Riley would take care of her. The boy obviously cared for Buffy. So he left.

Now Buffy was fighting for her life. Buffy had needed him. If he had stayed in Sunnydale, he would have patrolled with her. Buffy would never fight alone, even though she always insisted she could take care of herself. He knew that, but someone had to watch her back every now and then.

Feeling someone staring at him, he looked up. For the second time that evening, Riley loomed over him.

"I spoke to one of the nurses. She's still in surgery, but so far, so good. I thought you'd like to know."

Angel felt the relief wash over him. He knew Buffy was still not out of the woods, but hearing the surgery was going well gave him some hope. "Thank you."

Riley nodded and started to walk away, but then turned around again. "Angel, listen, I uh…" Riley tried to collect his thoughts for a moment. The words were difficult to say. "I just wanted to thank you for getting Buffy to the hospital so quickly."

"Let's just hope she pulls through."

He hoped to God she would.


	2. Battered and Beaten

Cordelia rested her head against the car window and closed her eyes, still feeling the lingering pain of the migraine her vision had left behind. She couldn't believe she was going back to Sunnydale. It would be her first time returning to her hometown since she had left, and these were certainly not the circumstances she imagined bringing her back.

Her thoughts wandered to Angel, the panic in his eyes as she told him what she'd seen in her vision. She had never seen Angel move so fast, running to gather weapons and hurrying out without another word except to tell her to call Giles right away. Hours later when he called her back, it appeared the news was not good. Yes, he had found her, but had he found her in time?

Whether the vampire would admit it or not, he needed his family, and she and Wesley were the closest thing to a family he had. They didn't think twice about making the two hour drive and left for Sunnydale as soon as they could.

"Did I miss the exit?" Wesley asked, getting Cordelia's attention.

"What? Oh, no, but it's close."

"How are you feeling?"

"A little better. Mostly just tired now."

"Well…just rest. I'll wake you up when we arrive."

Cordelia gave Wesley a weak smile, then closed her eyes again. The truth was, even though she was tired, she couldn't sleep. The vision still haunted her, and she could only imagine what Angel must be going through at the moment. It wasn't as if she was Buffy's biggest fan, but she didn't want her to die, and the image of her beaten within an inch of her life shocked her to say the least. It had seemed to Cordelia that Buffy was an enigma, some indestructible force that couldn't be stopped. But in the end, she was still a human. Buffy wasn't immortal. She could still die.

* * *

At 2:05 a.m., the ER waiting room was quiet, save for the low volume of the television that was still on in the corner. About twenty minutes ago, there had been a flurry of activity when a young mother brought in her infant child running a high fever, but since then, no one except the janitorial staff had made their way into the ER.

Anya was the only one who could sleep. She laid on the couch curled up in a ball, her head resting on Xander's lap. The rest of the group sat in silence, only broken by the sounds of Spike's occasional laughter at the television.

The sliding glass doors of the hospital's main entrance opened again, and Willow's eyes widened. "Cordelia and Wesley are here." Willow wasn't sure why, but this surprised her.

Angel looked up from his corner of the room, surprised to see them as well. "Cordelia, Wesley, what are you doing here?"

Cordelia gave him a pointed look. "What do you think we're doing here? We're here because you need us."

"How's Buffy?" Wesley asked.

"She should be coming out of surgery soon. They haven't told us much yet."

Cordelia took the seat beside Angel. "I'm sure she's going to be just fine."

"She's a healthy young woman," Wesley added, taking the seat across from Angel. "And a fighter. The odds are in her favor."

Angel gave them a half-hearted smile. He knew they were just trying to keep him optimistic. Cordelia complained he brooded way too much.

"Oh my god, your shirt!" Cordelia gasped, noticing the dark blood stain that had since dried. She didn't need Angel to tell her that it was Buffy's blood. Apparently the attack had been worst than she realized. "Good thing I brought your clothes. I packed a bag for you and it's in the car. I figured you'd probably be staying here for a while and you left in such a hurry that you didn't take anything. Why don't you change that shirt? I could go back to the car and get one for you."

"Later," Angel said. The blood-stained shirt was the least of his worries.

"Angel, did you by chance get a look at these vampires that attacked Buffy?" Wesley asked.

Angel nodded. "I killed three of them. The other one got away." Angel looked from Wesley to Cordelia. "I'm afraid we have trouble."

Cordelia frowned. "What kind of trouble?"

"Well for starters, these were no ordinary vampires."

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"A vampire is strong by nature. These guys were stronger, a lot stronger, and with a killer attitude to boot."

"You don't mean…warrior vampires, do you?" Wesley asked.

Angel gave Wesley a nod, which answered his question.

"Wait, I don't understand," Cordelia said. "Warrior vampires? What's a warrior vampire? You're a warrior, right?"

"Yes, but these are warriors for the other side. They're very dangerous vampires, Cordelia. They kill not just out of necessity, but usually on orders from a master. They go after slayers in particular. Buffy's strong but it would have been difficult for her to fight them all by herself."

Cordelia's eyes widened in shock. "Hold on, back up a second! What did you say about the Master? The Master is dead! I saw him!"

"Shh, keep your voice down," Angel warned. He looked over to the group across the room, but they didn't seem to hear anything. He turned back to Cordelia. "I'm not talking about _that _master. He's not coming back. But he's not the only master vampire out there."

"So you're saying Sunnydale may have another master vampire?" Wesley asked.

"The Hellmouth attracts a lot of energy."

"Well that's just great," Cordelia remarked.

"We should inform Mr. Giles right away." Wesley stood to his feet.

Angel grabbed Wesley's arm and held him back. "No, not yet."

Wesley gave Angel a confused look. "I don't understand."

"They have enough to deal with tonight. Let's not add to their worries just yet, especially when we don't know for sure what's going on."

Wesley look across the room again and saw Giles making his way towards them. Angel threw him a warning look, and Wesley tried to relax.

"Mr. Giles," he said.

"Hello, Wesley. Cordelia."

"Hi, Giles."

"It's good to see you again," Wesley said to Giles. "Although unfortunate it is under these circumstances."

Giles nodded, but tried to remain optimistic. "We're all hoping for the best. Cordelia, I wanted to thank you for calling me so quickly. I only wish we could have got to her sooner."

"I'm sure Buffy will be just fine." She hoped at least. She wasn't sure of anything.

"I'm curious of this vision you had. How did you know Buffy was in danger?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I only see what the Powers want me to see."

"Did you happen to see…" Giles lost his train of thought as he saw a man in blue scrubs walking into the waiting area. After hours of waiting and worrying, they were finally going to hear how Buffy was doing.

Everyone gave the doctor their attention, anxious for an update. Even Spike turned away from the television.

The doctor looked young, almost too young to even be a doctor at all, let alone a neurosurgeon. But the expression he wore was definitely one of a doctor. He looked serious, yet calm, as if he had done this many times before.

"I take it you all are here for Buffy Summers?" he asked.

"Yes. How is she?" Giles asked, answering for the group.

"She's alive," he answered, and the group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"How bad is it?" Riley asked, fearing the worst. The doctor was obviously holding back.

"Along with a few internal injuries that were relatively minor, there was some swelling of the brain. We had to go in to relieve the pressure. She's in critical condition for now. The next seventy-two hours are going to be crucial and we'll be monitoring her in our ICU."

Angel hated that the doctor was being so vague. "Critical condition?"

"We won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up. And unfortunately, that may take a while," the doctor added.

If Angel had a beating heart, he would have felt it stop now. "What does that mean?"

This was the news the good doctor hated to give. He'd given this news to other families countless times before, but it didn't make it any easier. He looked at everyone staring at him, seeing the hope and dread in their eyes. "I'm afraid she's in a coma."

* * *

The doctor would allow only one visitor for now, and it was understood among everyone that Riley would be the one to go. Angel couldn't help but feel the pangs of jealousy again, but Riley was her boyfriend. Angel had no right to insist on being the first to see her. He supposed if Buffy were awake, Riley would be the one she'd want to see anyway.

"Well, I don't think there's much more we can do tonight," Wesley said to Angel and Cordelia. "Perhaps we should all get some shut-eye for now?"

"There's a hotel across the street," Cordelia said. "I'm sure they'll have plenty of rooms. This is Sunnydale, after all." Cordelia grabbed her purse and begin to follow Wesley, but stopped when she realized Angel hadn't moved. "Angel, are you coming?"

"It'll be dawn soon enough," Wesley warned.

"You two go ahead," he said, and took a seat in the nearest chair. "I'm staying here."

Cordelia frowned. "Angel—"

"Look, it's obvious that someone out there wants Buffy out of the picture. I can't be too sure they won't come back to finish the job."

"Do you really think that Buffy…?" Wesley moved closed and lowered his voice. "Do you really think that Buffy could still be in danger? She's in a hospital."

"A hospital is a public place," Cordelia said, speaking for Angel.

"Go ahead," Angel insisted when Wesley seemed to hesitate. "I'm just going to stay here."

"All right." Cordelia leaned forward and gave him a hug. "We'll see you in the morning."

Angel nodded, and before they left, he called them back. "Cordy? Wes? Thank you for coming."

Cordelia and Wesley both smiled at him, then left the hospital.

* * *

Angel was getting restless. Everyone for the most part had left to get some sleep, although he was certain Riley was still around here somewhere. Before he realized what he was doing, Angel was on his feet and heading down the hallway to the ICU.

He had to see her. He had to see for himself that Buffy was okay. Angel could not rest until then.

He slipped past the charge nurse, unnoticed. He was good at that, and it made him think of how he used to sneak up on Buffy sometimes. It wasn't always easy…she could sense him. But once in a while, she'd turn around and be surprised to find him standing there.

Buffy's cubical was the closest one by the door. Angel looked around, making sure the coast was clear. When he was certain no one was around, he slipped behind the curtain.

Angel had not been prepared for the sight in front of him. Buffy looked so small, so weak. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. He was used to seeing her strong. He was used to seeing her fight. But this Buffy was different. It was as if all her energy had been drained by the ordeal she had suffered through. She was surrounded by monitors and machines that constantly beeped. She had an IV drip and a tube down her throat to help her breathe. Her face was bruised, and a nasty cut on her forehead now had a few stitches to help it heal. Her head was bandaged from the surgery.

Angel sat down and reached for her hand, being careful not to mess up the IV line. He hoped for a response, thinking to himself that if she were to respond to anyone, it would be him.

But Buffy didn't move.

"You have to be okay, Buffy," he whispered. "Please be okay."

Behind him, the curtain suddenly opened, and Angel turned to see a nurse staring at him.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave," she said, giving him a sympathetic look. "She's recovering from surgery. You can come back during visiting hours."

"Please. Just a few minutes," Angel said, hardly recognizing his own voice.

"Is she your…girlfriend?"

"She's an old friend." _Except she was so much more._

The nurse stared at him, considering it. "All right. Five minutes. But then you have to leave."

"Thank you."

The nurse checked Buffy's vitals, marked her chart, and quietly left the cubicle, leaving Angel alone with her.

Angel continued to hold her hand. He felt for her pulse. It was strong and steady now, which was a good sign. Although she looked much better now than she did a few hours earlier, it was obvious that Buffy had put up the fight of her life tonight. And he couldn't forget that Buffy's prognosis was still touch and go.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I should have been here sooner." _I should have been here, period_, he thought, and wished again that he had never let Buffy Summers slip away from him. Even if he could never make love to her. Even if he could never give her children. Even if he had to watch her grow old and die while he stayed young forever, at least they would have been together. And she would have been safe. Always.

If Buffy died now, he would never forgive himself for leaving her.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and thanks for reading! :)


	3. Somewhere Between Life and Death

Angel hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Angel?"

Angel opened his eyes, winced as he felt a crick in his neck, and saw Cordelia standing over him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Buffy? Is she…"

"No change."

Angel had hoped for better news, but at least she was no worse.

"Here, I brought you something." Cordelia handed him a paper coffee cup, but it was obvious to them both that it wasn't coffee inside.

Angel took the blood gratefully. "Thanks, Cordy."

"You're welcome." Cordelia sat in the chair beside him. "Did you sleep here all night?"

"Just a few hours," he said, taking another sip from his cup. He hadn't realized how long he had been without eating something. "I saw her."

"You saw Buffy?"

"She's not healing as fast as she normally does."

"What do you mean?"

"The bruises on her face. She doesn't bruise easily, which means her attackers were a lot stronger than she realized. I've never seen her like that before."

Cordelia understood what he meant, for she had seen Buffy in her vision. It was almost hard to recognize her face at all. "I hate to say it, but you kind of look like hell yourself. Maybe you should go rest for a while. Not to mention clean up a bit." Cordelia waited for his response, but she wasn't sure he'd heard her at all. She followed his gaze across the room, spotting Riley. "Looks like you weren't the only one who stayed here all night."

Angel studied the boy for a moment, watching as he paced across the room with his cell phone attached to his ear. He looked like he hadn't slept at all. "Do you think he loves her?" He asked the question before he even realized he was thinking it.

Cordelia looked at Angel, staring at her and waiting for her response. "Yes, I think so."

Angel thought so too, but it was hard to believe that any man wouldn't love Buffy. "Do you think she loves him too?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I don't know."

A nurse Angel recognized happened to walk past them. Angel reached out and touched her arm. "Excuse me, nurse? Buffy Summers?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, there's been no change."

Angel nodded. "Thank you anyway," he said, and the nurse walked away.

"Angel, you need to get some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"But Angel—"

"Cordy, I'm fine. Look, I just want to stay here and make sure that Buffy's alright. They could still come after her."

"Angel, no one's going to hurt her. It's a pretty sunny morning out there. I doubt the vampires are going anywhere for now."

Angel decided maybe he was tired. The fact that it was morning hadn't quite hit him yet. "I guess you're right."

"Look, there are plenty of beds around here. Why don't you go find one and sleep for a while, okay? And change your shirt for god's sake. Here." Cordelia thrust a clean one into his hand from out of her bag. "I'll find you if anything changes with Buffy."

Angel suddenly felt exhausted, and reluctantly, he stood up. "Alright."

* * *

Willow had been afraid to go in. She had stood outside the ICU for five minutes just to work up the courage. Riley had seen her already. He said it was bad, worse than he imagined, and the thought made Willow nearly cry every time. She didn't want to see Buffy like that.

Willow now stood in the doorway, seeing her almost unrecognizable best friend lying in the bed. She was hooked up to all sorts of monitors that beeped and tubes that ran fluids into her body. Willow took another step forward and choked back the sob threatening to come out of her mouth. The bruises on her face were dark purple. The cut on her forehead stitched up. Buffy would hate to see herself like this, so maybe it was a good thing she was in a coma. Her body needed some time to heal. At least the surgeon had been kind enough to not shave too much of her hair. Buffy would hate if she had to be bald too.

Willow pulled up a chair to sit beside her. She took her hand and held it, and she wondered if maybe Buffy could sense her presence. "Hey, Buffy." But Buffy didn't respond, not that Willow expected her to.

A nurse walked over and checked the IV bag. She pulled out Buffy's chart and wrote a few notes down. It seemed to Willow that the nurses ran the show here, constantly checking on the patients, even more so than the doctors.

"How is she?" Willow asked her.

"She's still critical but she's stable for now."

"Why is she on a ventilator? Can she not breathe on her own?"

"It's just a precaution. We'll take her off of it if she remains stable. You could try talking to her. Sometimes that helps."

It looked as if she were just sleeping. Willow had to remind herself that she was in a coma. "Do you think she can hear me?"

The nurse shrugged, gave her a smile. "She might." She placed Buffy's chart back and left the cubicle, leaving Willow and Buffy alone again.

"Buffy, I know it's hard for you right now. You just got out of surgery a few hours ago and I'm sure you're tired. But you have to wake up. You have to try. The doctors say that if you don't wake up soon, then they don't expect you will at all, and Buffy, you can't let that happen."

Willow waited, for what, she wasn't sure. She wanted a response, some indication that Buffy was going to be okay.

"Squeeze my hand, Buffy. Maybe you can't open your eyes now. Maybe you can't talk. But if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." Willow gave her a moment, then sighed in disappointment. Buffy didn't move.

"Well, that's okay. You're still tired. Maybe tomorrow, huh? Maybe you'll wake up tomorrow. Everyone's here, Buffy. We're all waiting for you. Riley, Xander, Giles. And guess what? Even Angel. Did you know that? Angel's here, and he's been here. All night. He's the one that saved you. Well, I suppose the doctor actually saved you, but Angel was the one who found you. If he hadn't…" Willow didn't want to think of how much worse it could have been. She tried to stop the tears falling from her eyes, but it was useless.

"Oh, Buffy, we were so worried. We knew you were in some kind of trouble and we couldn't find you anywhere. You know that cell phone your mother gave you for your last birthday? You've got to remember to charge it every now and then, okay? What would your mother say if she were here, huh? She'd say, 'Don't you go anywhere without that phone and for heaven's sake make sure it's charged.' You know how she freaked whenever she couldn't reach you. I guess I sort of know how she felt now. Well, don't you worry about that. When you get out of this hospital, I'll make sure you charge that phone every day."

* * *

Angel opened his eyes, squinting at the clock on the wall. He had been sleeping for a couple of hours, which meant he must have really been tired. He got out of bed and headed back to the ICU for an update. As he walked down the hallway, he wondered if perhaps Buffy had woken up. No, he decided. If she had, Cordelia would have found him.

He peered into the window of the ICU. From his vantage point, he could see Buffy clearly. There was no change, except for a new nurse. Beside the bed, Xander sat in a chair and held her hand. He and Xander had never got along, and since Angel didn't feel like any confrontations at the moment, he left. But he was glad Xander was there. Buffy needed her friends right now. He wasn't sure what he was anymore. Friend? Maybe. Ex-boyfriend. Definitely. Soulmate? Always. But the lines were blurred when it came to his and Buffy's relationship, and he didn't quite know where he fit in now.

But there was one thing he knew for sure. Whoever did this to Buffy would pay. Angel left the ICU with a renewed sense of purpose. He had some answers to find.

* * *

It occurred to Angel that he could leave the hospital via the sewer system. It also occurred to him that if he could get out, anyone, including vampires, could just as easily get in. He cursed at himself, thinking Buffy would be okay in the daylight hours. The truth was, she was just as vulnerable now as she was last night.

Angel made his way through the familiar sewers of Sunnydale. It was much smaller than any of the Los Angeles sewers, but much more populated, as the vampire population in Sunnydale was higher. There was something to be said for a town on a Hellmouth.

After a few turns and a short distance later, Angel reached his destination.

"Hey, look who is!" Willy said from the counter. "Hey, Angel. Haven't seen you around in…jeez, a long time, huh?"

"Hey, Willy."

"You back in town for good, Angel, or is this just a little visit?"

Angel looked around the bar, seeing one lone drunk vampire sitting in the corner. He was too passed out to even lift his head up. "I may be here a while."

"Well do you want something? I've been told I make a mean Bloody—"

"Actually, I just came for one thing."

Willy laughed nervously and wiped down the counter that was obviously clean. "You want information, huh?"

"Buffy was attacked last night. I need to know what you know about it."

"The Slayer? What happened to her?"

"A group of vampires ganged up on her. She's in a coma."

"Oh jeez. That's…that's terrible."

"Willy, you need to tell me if you know if anything."

Willy shook his head. "Sorry, Angel, but I don't know anything about—"

Angel was suddenly behind the bar, grabbing Willy by the collar. He gave him a good hard push against the wall. "I think you're lying, Willy."

"I'm not lying!"

"Tell me what you know about Buffy's attack!"

"I swear I don't know nothing about the Slayer being attacked! Honest!"

Angel pushed his elbow against Willy's neck and vamped out. "Willy, you better start talking or I swear I will not think twice about my 'no feeding on humans policy'."

"Okay, okay!" Willy squeaked out.

Angel released his grip and Willy coughed a couple of times.

"What do you know?" Angel asked through gritted teeth, still in his vampire visage.

"Look, I wasn't lying to you about the Slayer, alright? I didn't know those guys were planning an all-out assault on her. But I can tell you that business has never been better, despite what it may look like now at this hour." Willy looked around his bar, empty save for the drunk still passed out in the corner.

"I'm going to need you to be a little more specific," Angel warned.

"Sunnydale's population has gone up if you get my drift. A lot more vampires, from out of town I mean. And they've brought their demon buddies with them."

Angel's face returned to normal, convinced that Willy was going to cooperate now. "Describe the vampires."

"Oh, I don't know. Big? Mean looking. Worse than you. The word _brute_ comes to mind. A group of them were here last night, all decked out like they were going to war or something. Asked where that club is, you know, the Bronze? Maybe they heard the Slayer hangs out there, I don't know."

"They definitely sound like the vamps that attacked her. What about the demons hanging around here? What are they like?"

"All kinds. Some carry around swords, some come with tentacles. Some don't even have hands, they have claws. Look, I don't know what they are. Just as long as they pay for their drinks and stay out of trouble in my bar, I've got no problem with them."

"How long would you say this has been going on?"

Willy shrugged. "I don't know, a few months maybe, but more so in the last couple of weeks. I see new faces every night now."

"Have you heard anything about a master?"

"A what?"

"A master vampire," Angel clarified.

Willy shook his head. "No, not that I can remember."

Angel reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Reaching inside, he grabbed a twenty. "I want you to be my eyes and ears, Willy. You see anything suspicious or hear anyone talking about the Slayer, you tell me."

Willy reached for the twenty, but Angel held it up, out of his reach. He ripped it in two and handed half of it to him. "I'll give you other half when you give me more information."

Without another word, Angel left the bar as quietly as he came. Willy watched him leave, then looked down at the half twenty in his hand. He shrugged and placed it in the register.

* * *

"I feel so helpless," Willow said to Tara as the two watched Buffy through the window. Riley was back by her side now. He had hardly left her all day, insisting he wanted to be there when she woke up.

"Buffy will pull through," Tara said. "She's very strong."

Willow nodded. "I just hope she wakes up soon."

"The doctor said it could take a few days."

Willow frowned. "The doctor also said the longer a person is comatose, the lower the chances are for recovery. And if she does wake up, she may not be the same."

"What will happen if she doesn't wake up?" Tara looked at Willow with concern in her eyes. "She's the slayer. Will another one be called?"

"No, that's not how it works. Another slayer is only called when one dies."

"But she's in a coma. That's not exactly living."

"No, but she's still alive. She's just somewhere between life and death."

* * *

"Where have you been? I looked all over," Cordelia said as Angel walked back into the waiting room.

Angel wasn't sure whether to feel worried or hopeful. "Is it Buffy? Has something happened?"

"No. I'm sorry. Nothing's changed with Buffy. Wesley and I were just wondering where you were. Where were you anyway?"

"I paid our friend Willy the Snitch a visit."

"In broad daylight?"

"I found a sewer exit."

"Oh. Eww. Well, did you find out anything?"

"Only what I suspected. There are some new vampires in town. Why were you and Wesley looking for me? Is something going on?"

"Wesley and Giles have been talking," Cordelia explained. "I think you were right last night. We have some trouble."

"What did Wesley say?"

Cordelia shrugged. "Nothing to me, but he and Giles have been whispering in that corner for a while now. I think something is up."

Angel looked across the room at Wesley and Giles deep in conversation, a worried look on both their faces. "It sounds like we definitely have some troub—"

"Nurse! Nurse! Someone help her, please!" Riley's shouting suddenly had everyone's attention.

Two nurses and an intern were already running into Buffy's cubicle. Another nurse came trailing behind, trying her best to force a panicked Riley outside.

Angel ran over to the ICU, seeing Willow and Tara with terrified looks on their faces. The monitors by Buffy's beside were making all kinds of warning alarms. He tried to see Buffy for himself, but too many people in scrubs were blocking his view. Then one of the nurses pulled the curtain around her bed, and he couldn't see anything at all.

"Willow, what's going on?"

"I-I don't know! She was fine one minute and then the next minute, she wasn't!"


	4. A United Front

**A/N: **I felt bad for leaving the last chapter at such a cliffhanger, so without further waiting, here's Chapter 4…

* * *

Buffy felt completely at peace.

The sand between her toes was warm and soft. The ocean breeze was cool. In the distance, a sea gull was making some noise, and the only other sound she could hear was the relaxing calm of the ocean. She closed her eyes and listened. A wave crashed in and retreated. After a short lull, another wave came rolling in.

This felt like heaven.

Buffy loved the ocean, but being here wasn't the only reason she felt so relaxed and content. She opened her eyes and looked at the man sitting next to her. His sunglasses were dark, and the smile on his face told her he was just as relaxed as she was.

"Put on some more sunscreen. You've gone from being too pale to looking like a lobster," she told him with a laugh, then shrieked as a wave came in, splashing her ankles. The water was cold. Then all she could do was laugh…

* * *

"Buffy had a seizure," Dr. Drake explained to the worried group outside the ICU.

"Is she going to be alright?" Angel asked.

"She's stable for now. Look, I know what happened back there seemed a little terrifying, but it's actually not uncommon for patients with TBI to have seizures."

Xander looked to Willow, confused. "Will, what's TBI mean?" he whispered.

"Traumatic brain injury," she whispered back, hating those three little words.

"Will she have another one?" Riley asked.

"She could. But we'll continue to monitor her."

"And if she does…have another one?" a worried Giles asked.

"If the seizures become more frequent or severe, it will hamper her recovery. But for now, like I said, she's stable, and that's good."

Riley walked away from the group and stared through the window, looking at Buffy. She wasn't seizing anymore, but she was just as much in a coma as she was a few minutes ago.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon?" Willow asked the doctor hopefully.

The doctor shrugged. "She might. For now we just wait and see. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer than that. I know the waiting is difficult."

"Dr. Drake, Mr. Alderson is asking for you again," a nurse said, interrupting their discussion.

"Don't worry. We'll do everything we can," the doctor said, then walked away to tend to his next patient.

"Don't worry," Xander muttered, mocking the doctor. "Easy enough for him to say."

* * *

Outside the ICU, Angel watched Buffy through the glass. She looked the same as before. Small. Weak. Not the Buffy he was used to seeing. He clenched his hand into a fist, wishing that last vampire had not gotten away. If Angel saw him again, he'd finish the job.

Riley was sitting with her again, holding her hand. The boy hardly left her side. Angel couldn't blame him for loving Buffy, even though a part of him seethed with jealousy. He wanted to be the one holding her hand, but it obviously wasn't his place anymore.

Angel felt a hand on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Cordelia.

"Hey," she said, a half-hearted smile on her face.

"Hey."

"You doing okay?"

Angel looked back to the window. "I thought…I thought she was, when she…" Angel couldn't finish his thought, but Cordelia understood what he was trying to say.

"I know," she said, placing her hand over his. "We were all a little scared there for a moment. But Buffy's fine."

"As fine as someone in a coma can be."

"You've just got to give her a little time, but she'll be okay. She's the Slayer, you know?"

Angel looked at her, a questioning look on his face. "She's still human, Cordy."

"Well sure, but you and I both know that she isn't exactly normal. I've been thinking about it. She has all those freaky healing powers, right? Buffy gets bruised, and then the next day, poof! It's all gone. And a brain injury…well, it's not like a little cut or scrape. The more serious the injury, the longer it takes for it to heal. I say we give her a few days, let her recover. And soon enough, she'll be back to the same Buffy we all know and love. If only every coma patient was lucky to be a slayer, huh?"

"Faith is still in a coma," Angel said softly.

The smile on Cordelia's face fell. "Oh. Right. I uh…I sort of forgot about her."

Angel turned to Cordelia, gave her a half-hearted smile. "It's a nice thought though, that Buffy could heal herself."

"I do know one thing for sure."

"What's that?"

"Buffy wouldn't be alive at all if you hadn't found her in time."

"Did I?" Angel stared at Buffy again, picturing her in the cemetery the night before. Would he ever get that image out of his mind?

"That's what the doctor said. If you had found her a half hour later…"

She was alive at least, Angel reminded himself. At least she was still alive, and she still had a chance of recovery.

"Angel?"

Angel turned around, seeing Wesley standing behind him. "Yeah?"

"I think you should talk to Mr. Giles now, and you'll want to hear what he has to say as well."

Angel nodded, took one more look at Buffy, then followed Wesley to the waiting room.

"Hey, wait up," Cordelia said, trailing behind. "I'm part of the AI team too, you know!"

* * *

Giles was silent and his face etched with worry lines as Angel recounted his run-in with the warrior vampires.

"I don't have to tell you what this means, do I, Giles?" Angel asked.

Giles shook his head. "No. This would definitely appear to be the work of a master vampire, and it makes sense he would send his strongest after Buffy. But it couldn't be…I mean, it's not possible that it's—"

"No. The Master you're thinking of is gone, for good. But that doesn't mean there aren't more powerful vampires out there."

"And of course, he decided to come to Sunnydale," Cordelia remarked.

"They're drawn to the Hellmouth's energy," Giles explained.

"So I've heard," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes.

"I paid our friend Willy a visit. He says that business has never been better, vampires and demons alike. Has there been anything else unusual going on lately?"

"Well, a few weeks ago, Buffy encountered a Polgara demon on a routine patrol."

"What's a Polgara?" Cordelia asked.

"It's a rather nasty demon with skewers in his arms," Wesley said.

"And quite dangerous too," Giles added.

"But Buffy handled it?" Angel asked.

Giles nodded. "She killed it, yes, although Riley unfortunately got the brunt of the attack. Fortunately his injury wasn't as serious as it looked."

"Riley was with her?" Angel couldn't stop himself from asking. He was glad Buffy wasn't patrolling alone all the time, so why was he so jealous?

_Because you're suppo_sed _to be the one patrolling with her._

"Never mind. Not important," Angel said before Giles could even reply.

"The Polgara demon was dangerous enough, and then last week she had a run in with a Mohra demon down at the beach."

Angel's head shot up at the mention of it. "A Mohra demon?"

Giles nodded. "Yes. Assassin demons, and they're known for hunting down warriors."

"I believe they also need salt to live which would explain their location by the ocean," Wesley said.

"I know what a Mohra demon is," Angel said in a low voice.

Giles looked at Angel. "Oh, that's right. I suppose you do. I remember now. Buffy mentioned seeing you kill one."

"You've seen one of these in action, Angel?" Wesley asked.

Cordelia glanced at Angel, seeing him flinch slightly.

"Yes. Last fall. Giles, did Buffy only see the one, or were there more?"

"There were more, actually. There was a small nest of them in one of the caves nearby."

"They didn't regenerate, did they?" Angel felt a sense of panic. "You have to be careful with Mohras. If not killed properly, they'll regenerate themselves and come back stronger."

"No, Buffy knew how kill them."

Angel felt his panic lessen. "Good." He wondered, though, how exactly Buffy knew how to kill it. The second time the Mohra crashed through his window, Angel killed it in no time. Had Buffy noticed the jewel on its forehead was the key to destroying it?

"So let me see if I understand correctly," Wesley said. "In just the last few weeks, Buffy has encountered a Polgara, a group of Mohras, and now these brutal warrior vampires."

"Yes, that about sums it up," Giles answered.

"You know what's unusual?" Wesley said, pondering aloud. "It's my understanding that the vampire and demon populations are usually at odds with each other. And if that's the case, why the sudden united front against the Slayer?"

"Something's obviously uniting them," Angel said.

"Or someone," Wesley said.

Giles sighed. "I knew I had a bad feeling about all this."

Cordelia, who had been silent for most of the conversation, looked from Wesley to Giles, then to Angel, and wondered why they all had such worried expressions on their faces. "I don't get it. Someone's always trying to kill Buffy. That's not news. What makes these demons any different than the rest of them?"

Angel was the one to answer. "Because these aren't your run of the mill attacks, Cordelia. And these have all been assassin demons. Someone is specially trying to eliminate Buffy. She could be in great danger right now. Giles, we need to make sure no one gets to her. Someone needs to stay with her at the hospital at all times."

"Wait a second," Cordelia said, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "Maybe their intention wasn't to kill her at all."

Wesley glanced at her with a questioning look. "What do you mean, Cordelia?"

"Think about it. If their intent is to get the slayer out of the way, then what good would killing Buffy do? All that would happen is that another slayer would be called, right? What better way to get a slayer out of the picture than by beating her into a coma? She'd still be alive, so no new slayer would be called. And now you've got two slayers, Buffy _and_ Faith, out of commission. And that means—"

"The Hellmouth has no Slayer," Giles said, finishing her sentence. "You might be right about that, Cordelia. Angel, were there any bite marks that you saw?"

Angel shook his head. "No, but now that I think about it, I'm surprised there weren't. I don't think vampires like that would pass up the opportunity to feed on a Slayer. But I still think we should err on the side of caution though. If their intention was to kill Buffy, whose to say they won't try to come finish the job?"

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for reading, everyone! Some of you mentioned you had a few questions. I think any questions you have will be answered throughout the story, but just in case you're still a little confused…

This is sort of an alternate version of Season 4. All of the events up to "Pangs" have happened. After that is where it sort of goes off-canon. I try to stick to canon whenever possible, so not everything is entirely different, but some things have been changed for the purpose of my story. Some things major, like Joyce dying and Faith still being in a coma. Other things…minor. Okay, so I know Polgara demons weren't exactly "assassin demons" like Mohras, but they look downright scary to me! I think they'd be perfect for it lol.

As for "Angel", the story occurs sometime after the season 1 finale. Most of the events from the show have happened, with the exception, obviously, of Faith, as in my story, she never came out of her coma and therefore, never went to L.A.

There are a few other changes as well (for both shows), but I don't want to give everything away just yet….until Chapter 5! :)


	5. Healing Power

It had been four days since Buffy's arrival to the hospital, and by Monday evening, she was moved out of ICU and into a private room.

It was good news, as Buffy was no longer in critical condition, and she hadn't had any more seizures. The bad news, however, was the fact that Buffy was expected to be awake by now, and she was not.

Willow walked down the hallway to room 218. Buffy's room.

She stopped in the doorway when she saw Angel sitting by the bed, talking to Buffy. She didn't want to interrupt, but Angel looked up and saw her anyway.

"I was just…oh, it's you. Hey, Willow."

"Hey."

"I thought you were Riley."

"No, just me. Riley left a little while ago. His friend Graham made him go home to get some rest."

Willow pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Buffy's bed. She'd ask Angel how Buffy was doing, but the answer was quite obvious. There was no change.

"He doesn't like me being here that much, but I can't leave her again."

Willow glanced at Angel. He held on to Buffy's hand as he watched her.

"I'm sure Buffy doesn't mind you here."

"I should have never left her."

"Never should have left? Angel, you've hardly left this place at all. You and Riley both."

Angel looked up and stared at Willow. "No, Willow, I mean I never should have left Sunnydale."

Willow stared back at him as the realization of what he was saying sunk in. "Oh." And that was all she could think of to say.

"I miss her. I try not to. I try to put her out of my mind, move on with my life. But I can't. I love her too much. I should have been here, protecting her. This never would have happened if I had just stayed. But I wasn't there for her."

"You were there when it counted, Angel," Willow said softly. "It could have been much worse. We could be having this conversation at her funeral."

"Right." He had to agree that Willow was right. As bad at things were now…they could have been so much worse.

A moment or two passed in silence, and Willow made conversation so it would be less awkward. "Hey, her bruises look better. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," She really did look better, but appearances were deceiving, and Buffy was no less of being in a coma than she was four days ago.

"It's getting late, Willow. You should probably go home and get some rest."

"Are you sure? Because I don't mind being here on Buffy patrol if you need a break. You've been here all day it seems."

"I'm sure. I'd really like to stay here with her."

Willow nodded and rose to her feet. "Okay." She looked down at Buffy and reached for her hand. "Buffy, I'll be back tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Okay?"

Buffy didn't respond, but Willow didn't expect her too. Somewhere deep down inside, she imagined Buffy could hear her.

"Take care of her, Angel."

"I will. Goodnight, Willow."

* * *

As Willow turned the corner towards the nurses station, she collided with an orderly and dropped her purse on the floor.

"Sorry," Willow apologized as the orderly rushed off, apparently in a hurry somewhere. She bent down on the floor to gather her belongings. Everything had fallen out of her purse, of course, and Willow had to scramble around to get everything.

As Willow sat on the floor and picked up her things, she heard two nurses behind the main desk having a conversation.

"Oh that poor girl."

"Which girl?"

"That girl in a coma."

Willow's ears perked up. _They were talking about Buffy._

"Oh, I know. It's heartbreaking. I have a niece about her age. So young."

"Just nineteen-years-old. She had her whole life ahead of her, then some guy comes along and uses her face as a punching bag."

"I heard she tried to defend herself with a stick. I hope they catch the guy."

Willow stayed low on the floor, feeling tears well in her eyes.

"Such a terrible shame. It'll be a miracle if she wakes up. Well, enough sadness for tonight. Can you hand me Edna Roberson's chart? It's time for her medicine again…."

Willow wiped the tear sliding down her cheek. She waited until the two nurses left, then gathered the rest of her things. She ran toward the elevator with the words repeating over and over in her mind: _It'll be a miracle if she wakes up._

* * *

Instead of going straight home, Willow made a stop at the Magic Box. She found the key at the bottom of her purse and let herself in. When Giles took over the shop and had given her a spare key, he probably hadn't intended for Willow to actually use it, especially after store hours. But she didn't think Giles would mind. Besides, this was an emergency anyway. Giles would understand.

She quietly closed the door behind her and locked it. It was important to keep outside visitors away, especially when she knew all the kinds of dangers lurking out there.

Willow didn't bother turning on the overhead lights. No need to draw undue attention to herself. Instead, she grabbed a flashlight she kept handy and looked around for the candles Giles kept behind the counter. She planned to be here for a while.

* * *

"Do you remember when we first met?" Angel asked, not expecting Buffy to answer, of course. But he found it comforting to reminisce. "You kicked me to the ground, yelled at me for following you." Angel laughed at the memory, remembering how feisty she had been. Little did he know then how important she would one day be to him.

"I don't think you liked me very much in the beginning. Or I don't know, maybe you did. But I loved you from the first moment I saw you, that day you walked out of the school before your life changed forever. I just wanted to keep you safe. That's why I followed you to Sunnydale. I wanted to help you. I failed you, Buffy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I hurt you."

Buffy continued to lay there, still as she could be, eyes closed.

"I love you, Buffy. I love you more than anything. I don't know when things became so complicated, or how I ever lost my focus. But I know one thing for sure now. I won't make the same mistake twice. I promise that this time, I'll keep you safe."

He leaned forward, wrapped his hands gently around her face, and kissed her forehead.

* * *

Willow was getting closer. She'd already searched through some of the more popular spell books and didn't have much luck, but this one particular book she was perusing at the moment looked promising. She had even done a few of these spells before, much to Giles' dismay. He didn't like her dabbling in the dark magicks, but sometimes it was necessary to do.

A clicking sound tore her focus away from the book. She snapped her head up, looking towards the direction in which the sound came from. Someone was trying to open the door.

Willow panicked, suddenly realizing how foolish it had been to come here after hours. The Magic Box was infamous for its late night raids by vampires, demons, and the likes. And whoever was at the door definitely didn't have a key, otherwise they would have been inside by now. But why try to pick the lock, she wondered. Why didn't they just break the glass like usual?

Scrambling to blow out all the candles, Willow ducked under the table, wondering if she should stay here and hide or if she should crawl towards the back and make a break for it. She didn't have time to decide.

The door creaked open and the bell above it jingled. Two seconds later, the figure was moving through the room, and apparently bumped into something because she suddenly heard a loud thud.

"_Bloody hell!" _the voice cursed.

Willow let out the breath she had been holding. She raised her head out from under the table and turned her flashlight on the intruder. "Spike! What are you doing here?"

Spike shrugged. "About to ask you the same question, Red. And don't think I didn't know you were here. I smelled you as soon as I walked in. What are you sitting here in the dark and hiding under the table for?"

"I thought you were a vampire breaking in."

"I _am_ a vampire breaking in."

Willow rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

Spike casually strolled past Willow as he made his way behind the counter and to the cash register.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" Spike grabbed the key from Anya's not so inconspicuous hiding place and jimmied the register open. "You know, for someone whose so obsessed with money, you'd think Little Miss Stock Exchange would put this key in a different spot."

"You can't break into the cash register and steal money!"

"I think I just did," Spike said, slamming the register shut and counting the bills in his hand. "This should get me through until Thursday."

"Spike! Put it back! _Now._"

When Spike made no attempt to put back the twenties he'd just stolen, Willow turned to more childish tactics.

"I'm telling Giles!"

"Oh, sod off. The old wanker owes me anyway."

"Oh right. I'm sure Giles just said, 'Go ahead, Spike, help yourself to the cookie jar! Take as much as you want!'"

Spike marched over to Willow, prepared to get in her face. "Hey! Who do you think has been out there every night killing the big bads and uglies, huh?"

"You've been patrolling for Buffy?"

Spike shrugged. "Well, I figure someone ought to do it. Guess it might as well be me. Had to do something to keep me busy while the lot of you are at the hospital preparing to move in."

"That's really nice of you, Spike."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "_I'm not_ _nice. _And you didn't see me here."

Willow nodded. "Fine."

"Good, we have an understanding. And I won't say a word about…" Spike picked up the spell book Willow had been looking through, obviously in secret. "_Dark Magicks and Other Useful Spells." _Spike handed the book back to Willow. "Better be careful with that one, Sabrina. You could end up turning someone into a rat or something else equally horrible."

Willow watched as Spike left as quickly as he'd came. She grabbed her flashlight and turned back to the page she had been reading. She had finally found what she was looking for.

* * *

Tara sat in the living room that formerly belonged to Joyce Summers. She picked up a picture frame sitting on the end table, one of Buffy and her mother. Tara sighed and put it back down. There seemed to be a sadness in this house that permeated the walls, for everywhere Tara looked, she felt sorrow.

She felt grief for Joyce's death, even though she hadn't known her for too long. But she had always been so nice. And Tara knew what it was like to lose a mother.

She felt sad for Buffy, lying in a hospital bed and locked in her own mind. What must it be like to be in a coma? And what if she never woke up?

But most of all, Tara felt pain for Willow and what she was going through. She'd been spending a lot of time at the hospital lately, even spending the night a few times. Tara didn't blame her though. Willow needed to be there. Willow had once told her that Buffy was the closest thing to a sister she had ever had, and she had never lost anyone that close to her before. Tara wished she could do something to take that pain away. The only thing left to do was pray. The rest was in God's hands.

Something brushed against her legs, breaking her away from her thoughts. It was only Miss Kitty. She jumped into her lap, and Tara mused that perhaps Miss Kitty sensed her melancholy and was trying to comfort her.

"Hi, Miss Kitty."

The kitten gave a little mewl and circled around Tara's lap until she found a comfortable position. Tara scratched the fur underneath her chin, which made her purr.

The lock in the door caught Tara's attention, and Miss Kitty jumped out of Tara's lap at the sound. Tara rose just as Willow came rushing through the door.

"Tara!"

"Willow?" Seeing the smile on Willow's face, Tara could only assume one thing had happened. "What is it? Is it Buffy? Did she wake up?"

The smile on Willow's face fell, and she shook her head. "No. But I think I found something that will help."

Tara looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"

The smile on Willow's face returned. "A healing spell! Tara, I need you to help me do it."

* * *

Buffy's unconscious mind felt so frustrated.

It was dark here, always so dark. She wanted to open her eyes, and she tried to many times. But her eyes were so tired, and opening was too much of an effort.

She tried to move her arms and legs, then her feet and hands, but her limbs were too heavy. They wouldn't move. Why wouldn't they move? Were they tied down? Was she paralyzed?

When she tried to speak, she couldn't form the words, nor could she move her lips. She couldn't even scream.

It was frustrating being in this place. It was always so lonely, and even frightening at times. But once in a while, she'd hear voices. She could never make them out. Like a voice heard from underwater, garbled and distant, words indistinguishable. She wasn't even sure who was speaking, or even if the voice belonged to a man or a woman.

Except for his voice. His voice was so loud and clear.

"I love you, Buffy."

It sounded so familiar…but why? Who was it? If only she could open her eyes and see. But she was so tired, so very tired.

"_I love you more than anything."_

There it was again. His voice. It comforted her in a way in which she didn't understand. She wished for him not to leave. His voice was the one bright spot in her dark, empty world.

_I'm here! _Buffy screamed, finally getting out the words she had been so desperate to say.

But her words fell on deaf ears. The words were only in her mind, and they had never left her lips at all.

All her attempts to communicate had failed, and Buffy was too tired to think about it anyway.

Slowly, she began to drift back under, back into the fog, back into the dark.

Too tired today. Tomorrow she could try again.

* * *

"So I stopped by the Magic Box on the way home," Willow was explaining as she walked into the dining room, taking items out of a bag and setting them on the table. "I brought everything we need. Healing stones, amulets, candles…"

Tara gently placed her hand over hers. "Willow, healing spells—"

"I know what you're about to say. You're going to say that a healing spell is too advanced for our level, but I think we can do it. If you and me put our heads together, I'm sure of it. Please help me, Tara. I have to do this for Buffy."

Willow smiled so brightly. Tara hated to dash all her hopes, but she couldn't let Willow go on like this. "No, Willow," she said, shaking her head.

Willow frowned. "What do you mean 'no'?"

"Willow, I'm sorry, but I've heard stories of people trying healing spells. They don't work."

"But I've done spells out of this book before! What do you mean it wouldn't work?"

"Healing spells are great for small bruises and paper cuts, but not bringing a person out of a coma. And attempting a spell like this would likely do more harm than good. Do you remember what happened last month when that troll demon crashed into the Magic Box, and you tried out that teleportation spell?"

Willow nodded glumly. "I had nosebleeds for a week."

"Healing spells can be dangerous, and often, unpredictable. If you managed to bring Buffy out of a coma, she probably wouldn't be the same Buffy we know and love. She could have a personality change, or she'd be so far gone that she'd need around the clock nursing care. Or something could happen to you too. You could have more bigger problems than just nosebleeds. You don't want to risk making the situation worse, Willow."

Willow stood still and stared at all of the items on the table. She had been so sure this would work. It didn't make sense for there to even be a healing spell if it didn't work. "Why can't we just try it?" she said as she began to sob. "We would do it right. We could do the spell right and Buffy would be just fine."

"Willow, if there was a spell that could bring Buffy out of her coma, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But there's no magic potion. Medicine and magic aren't meant to mix."

"NO!" Willow screamed, then flew into a rage, pushing everything off the table; the amulets, stones, and the spell book filled with its false promises. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" Willow, having finished with her tantrum, sunk down to the floor and started to sob loudly. "It's not fair…"

Tara rushed to Willow's side and pulled her into her arms.

"Buffy's not going to wake up!" Willow cried.

"Buffy _will_ wake up," Tara said, although she wasn't sure of that, but it never hurt to remain optimistic. "Who told you she wouldn't?"

Willow sniffled. "No one. I overheard some of the nurses talking. They said it would be a miracle if she did."

It became clear to Tara why Willow wanted to do this spell so badly. If the nurses were thinking Buffy would never awake, then there was a pretty good chance that she wouldn't.

Tara felt so useless. She couldn't think of anything comforting to say. So instead, she continued to hold Willow and started to cry with her.

* * *

A/N: Oh, so sad :(

I actually cried when I wrote that last scene, picturing Willow hopeful one minute then devastated the next. I had toyed with the idea of Willow and Tara doing a healing spell, but decided against it. That would just be too easy, and really, if a healing spell could cure _anyone_, then no one would ever be sick, you know? So no healing spells. It's sad, but that's life.

Also, a little note about the Magic Box. I know that Giles didn't become the owner until Season 5, but I always thought this should have happened much sooner. So in "my" Season 4, he bought it. It just seemed so weird for him to be unemployed for all of Season 4, and this gives Giles something to do. Plus, it seemed odd for the group to have Scooby meetings at his place all the time, lol. I'll be incorporating a few ideas like that from Season 5 into "my" Season 4. This is because I thought Season 5 was awesome, and Season 4 was kind of…ehhh.

Well…until chapter 6!


	6. A Little More Time

It was the first coherent thought she had.

_Someone was holding her hand._

And the strange thing was…it felt familiar, like she'd held that hand so many times before.

"Buffy…"

That voice! She recognized that voice! _His voice._

She felt him touch her cheek. The touch was soft, and just the slightest bit cool.

_His skin was cool?_

Suddenly, a bubble of happiness grew in her heart, growing so big it nearly burst. _She knew that touch._

Angel! It was Angel!

Of course it was him! Who else's voice would bring her such comfort? For days, (had it been days?) she had heard that voice. Soothing and comforting and somehow…familiar. She hadn't known why until now. It had been Angel all along.

"_You have to come back, Buffy. Come on, just open your eyes."_

"_Angel!" _her mind shouted joyfully, so happy to hear his voice again.

"_Please open your eyes."_

"_I'm trying to!"_

"_Can you hear me?"_

"_Yes!" _

"_Buffy? Please…just answer me. Open your eyes and talk to me."_

The bubble in her heart began to deflate. Angel had not heard her speaking at all. Just as before, her words were only in her mind.

_But Angel was here!_ Angel would make it better. Whatever was wrong with her, Angel would find a way to bring her back.

"Angel, what's wrong with me?"

Maybe she was under a spell. Or was she sick? Was that it? Why couldn't she talk to him? Why couldn't she move or open her eyes? Why wouldn't she wake up? Was she even sleeping at all?

"Angel, please! Help me!" she cried out, but the words formed so clearly in her mind still refused to leave her lips.

"_I have to go now, Buffy. I'll come back later."_

He was leaving? No! He couldn't leave! Not now!

"_Angel, no! Don't go!" _her mind screamed._ "Don't go…don't go…please. Don't go…"_

She felt the hand holding hers let go, and just like that, the link snapped closed again.

Buffy slipped back under.

* * *

Angel glared at Riley as the boy took the chair he'd vacated only seconds ago.

Riley caught his glare, then looked down at his watch. "You better hurry. It's almost dawn."

Angel looked at Buffy one more time, having the eerie feeling he had been connecting with her somehow.

He sighed. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

"_I'll be back_," he thought, as if Buffy herself could read his mind in her unconscious state.

* * *

Xander reached for Buffy's small, motionless hand, and gave it a squeeze. "Hey, Buffy. It's Xander. And Anya's here too." Xander looked across the bed and gave Anya a little smile. "We just thought we'd come by and sit with you for a while. You're looking a lot better than you were yesterday, which means you're healing. That's a really good sign."

"Xander, why do you talk to her if she doesn't talk back?"

"Because the doctors said it could help."

"Can she hear us?"

"Maybe. Why don't you say something to her?"

Anya looked down at Buffy and hesitated. She looked like she was sleeping. It felt so weird to talk to a person who was sleeping. Anya looked at Xander and gave him a worried expression. "I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"Just tell her you hope she feels better soon. And hold her other hand."

Anya took hold of Buffy's right hand and spoke. "I hope you feel better soon, Buffy." She looked at Xander again. "Now what? I don't know how to talk to her if she doesn't talk back."

"Just talk about anything," Xander said. "Tell her about your day so far. Tell Buffy what she's been missing."

"Okay. Well, I spent the night at Xander's last night. I hadn't meant to. I was going to go back to my place. But Xander was crying. About you. So I stayed with him and tried to comfort him, because that's what good girlfriends do."

"Don't tell her I was crying," Xander whispered.

"But you were, Xander."

"Just leave the crying part out, okay? Don't tell anyone that."

Anya shrugged. "Fine. Well, I comforted him because he was _upset._" Anya gave Xander a look. "See, I didn't say you were crying," she whispered. "Well then, we woke up really early this morning, but only because his parents were having an argument upstairs. I keep telling Xander that he needs to get out of his parents' basement. He needs his own place. It's hard to get any sleep at all down there with all the yelling upstairs. Not to mention the interruptions when we're trying to have sex. Xander's Uncle Rory got an eyeful one time. Xander was embarrassed for a week."

Anya looked over at Xander. "Am I doing it right?"

Xander gave her a smile. "Yeah." Although he was sure Buffy would love to hear more of their sexual escapades…not.

"Then this morning, I got dressed and went to work at the Magic Box, as usual. Oh, and guess what? Someone stole eighty dollars from the cash register again!"

"It was probably Spike," Xander said.

"That weasel. It _had_ to be him."

"See, Buffy, this is why you need to wake up. Spike's helping himself to the Bank of Giles. And you always go beat him up whenever he does stuff like that."

Anya looked down at Buffy, frowning. "I don't understand. We're talking to her. I thought that was supposed to help. Why isn't she waking up already?"

Xander looked down at Buffy, seeing her look just the same as she had since he walked into her room. "I don't know. Maybe she just needs a little more time."

* * *

"Okay, we're definitely not getting paid enough," Cordelia complained as she dusted the banister of the stairs and tried not to breathe in the dirt. "Where in my job description does it say 'clean up dusty mansions'?"

She and Wesley had been cleaning and dusting the mansion for hours, and there was still much more to do.

"Well it has to be done," Wesley said. "And we might as well stay here. I mean, after all, it does appear that we'll be in Sunnydale for a while."

"But why _here_?" Cordelia whined. "I know he's a vampire and this place is perfect for his brooding and all, but I don't understand why we couldn't just stay at the hotel."

"I'd say a lack of funds in both our wallets would be your answer."

Cordelia sighed loudly, a bit dramatically to fully express her displeasure. "I miss the maid service and free continental breakfast 6am-10."

Wesley looked up from his dust cloth. "I know." Cordelia had been complaining non-stop about it.

"Well you don't have to get all huffy about it! I'm just saying!"

"You know, Cordelia, if you hate this place so much, why don't you go stay with…oh! Oh dear, god!"

"Wesley, what's wrong?" Cordelia rushed down the stairs and over to where Wesley stood by the fireplace.

"It's uh…er, a spider. Over there. A rather large one."

Cordelia looked to where Wesley pointed. "Eww! Well, don't just stand there, Wes! Kill it!"

"With what?"

"Oh, I don't know! How about _your shoe_?"

Wesley looked down at his brown loafers. "But these happen to be my good shoes."

"Oh my god! You kill demons and you're afraid of a spider?"

"You're afraid of the spider!"

"I'm a girl! I'm not supposed to like bugs!"

Before either one of them could make another comment about it, a large hand squashed the spider for them.

"It's gone," Angel said, wiping the spider off his palm as he walked back over to the couch.

Cordelia put on a smile, as if she hadn't been complaining all day. "Angel, you're up. Can I get you something? Some fresh blood? Or some…blood?"

"You two don't have to stay here if you don't want to. You can go back to L.A. I don't know how long I'll be here."

"I'm not going anywhere, Angel," Wesley said.

"I don't want to leave either," Cordelia said as she joined Angel on the couch. "We're a team, right? And obviously the Powers brought us here for a reason. It's just if we're going to be staying here for a while, I'd like to make this place a little more…girl-friendly, that's all. And add at least a few mirrors to hang on the wall because I noticed you have zero."

This brought a smile to Angel's face, and Cordelia couldn't help but notice. "What?"

"I was just thinking. Buffy said the same thing one time."

"Well Buffy was right. And I know you don't need the mirrors, but trust me, I do. Not to mention some decent sheets around here." Cordelia glared at Wesley.

"What?"

"220-thread count. Really?"

"They were on sale!" Wesley said, defending his purchases.

"Sorry, Wesley, but I think she's right on that one," Angel said, agreeing with Cordelia.

"Fine! I'll return them!" Wesley said, gathering the shopping bags and preparing to go out the door.

"I better go with him," Cordelia said, hopping off the couch. "You going to be okay here?"

Angel took a book off the table. "I'll be fine. I've got research to keep me busy."

"Okay. We'll be back soon. Hey, Wesley, wait up!" Cordelia called out, then ran out the door and into the sunlight.

* * *

Angel was grateful when the sun went down. He'd had enough of Wesley and Cordelia's bickering for one day, but more importantly, he was anxious to see Buffy.

Apparently Riley left the hospital for a while, according to one of the nurses he'd befriended, anyway, which meant that maybe, _just maybe_, he'd actually get to sit with her. It was no secret that the soldier boy didn't like him much. Truth be told, he didn't like him much either. Angel supposed he'd worn out his welcome, but there was no point in leaving when trouble was brewing. And besides, he didn't want to leave Buffy anyway, at least not until he was sure that she would be okay.

So when he saw a strange African-American man sitting at Buffy's bedside, and apparently making himself at home in her room, he had a feeling Riley had something to do with it.

"Who the hell are you?" Angel demanded.

The man turned the television off and looked toward the doorway. "Riley was right. He said you'd show up eventually."

Angel marched over to the boy and stared him down. "I said, 'Who the hell are you?'"

He stood up and reached into his pocket, pulling out his tazor weapon for Angel to see. "The name's Forrest, and I'm your worst nightmare if you don't leave Riley's girl alone."

Angel began to laugh, not feeling threatened by him at all. "Oh is that so? What, did Riley send you to guard Buffy from me?"

"Yeah, that's right. See, Riley may be more lenient towards so-called 'good' vampires, but he knows that I'm not. I know what you are. And believe me, I'd like nothing more than to rid the earth of your kind of scum. So you can go back to L.A. or wherever it is you came from."

A nurse, who happened to choose that moment to walk into Buffy's room, interrupted Angel's retort. She looked from Angel to Forrest. "I'm sorry, but you two are going to have to leave for a while."

The nurse went about her duty, filling the pink basin she had brought with water and setting out tiny bottles of shampoos and lotions.

Angel left the room and turned around to see Forrest right behind him.

"I'm warning you," Forrest said, "If you do anything to threaten Riley's relationship with her, I'll come after you myself."

With that, Forrest walked away, leaving Angel a little stunned. All this time, he'd been so jealous of what Riley and Buffy had. It never occurred to him that the jealousy went both ways, and that Riley was envious of _him._

* * *

Xander was beginning to understand why Buffy hated hospitals so much. Too much sadness. Too many reminders of death. He stopped by to see her again later that night, and twice already, he'd heard the code blue alarm go off in the room across the hall. A few minutes after the second code, a woman could be heard wailing in the hallway. Apparently the patient in room 217 had not been so lucky the second time.

Xander squeezed Buffy's hand a little tighter, sad for the dead patient, but grateful that it had not been Buffy. Of course, the chances of that happening were slim. Buffy had been in stable condition for several days now and the breathing tube had long since been removed. But the truth of the matter was that even though Buffy had not gotten any worse, she hadn't exactly gotten better either.

One thing that concerned Xander was the general attitude of the nursing staff. At first, everyone had been optimistic, even encouraging. But as the days passed and Buffy remained in a coma, he could tell the nurses were less than optimistic now. Even though they never said the words, Xander knew what they were thinking. They thought Buffy would not wake up.

Xander refused to believe that. He wasn't about to give up on Buffy so easily.

"I have a new comic," Xander announced, hoping to lighten the mood and get his mind off everything he had been worrying about. He'd been reading to her to pass the time, hoping the sound of his voice would comfort her, if she could hear him, and possibly lure her out of her state of comatose.

"I think you'll like this one." Xander turned the comic to the first page. "It's about this girl with supernatural powers. Not a vampire slayer, per se, but she does kill a lot of bad guys and foil their evil plans."

Xander began to read, taking on a variety of voices for the different characters and describing the pictures in detail. He had only been reading for a few minutes when a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. _Was that? _Xander wondered.

Xander looked at Buffy's hand just in time to see a single finger twitch.

"Buffy?" Xander held on to her hand, feeling a slight movement. But the second time, it felt much stronger.

A squeeze.

Buffy was squeezing his hand!

"Buffy? Buffy!"

Buffy didn't respond now, but her hand had definitely been moving.

"Oh thank God!" Xander immediately ran out of Buffy's room, calling for the nurse. Riley and Angel, who'd been sitting in the nearby waiting room, opposite ends, both looked up hopefully at Xander.

"Buffy squeezed my hand!" Xander told them. "I think she's waking up!"


	7. You Can't Help Who You Love

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, everyone! :) I read every single one and they all make me feel warm and fuzzy! I haven't been able to reply to all of you since some of the reviews have been anonymous, so to everyone else reading, I thank you! Now…enough of me rambling and enjoy the chapter…:)

* * *

Angel, Xander, and Riley stood just outside Buffy's door, waiting for Dr. Drake to finish his examination.

After a few short minutes which seemed to take much longer, the doctor emerged from the room.

Xander was the first to speak. "Well?"

The doctor placed his small flashlight back into his pocket and gave the men an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. There's been no change. Buffy is still in a coma."

"But she squeezed my hand!"

"It was an involuntary movement. It happens sometimes in coma patients, but it doesn't mean she's waking up."

Riley wasn't buying it. "She's been lying in that bed for five days and hasn't moved once until now! Are you sure about that?"

The doctor nodded. "I understand your frustration, but I can promise you, it was an involuntary movement. Nothing more."

"Can't you run some more tests to be sure?" Angel asked.

"We'll continue to monitor her."

The doctor became momentarily distracted by his pager going off. He nodded to the men. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you a better answer. I know it wasn't the news you were hoping for. Feel free to talk to the nurse if you have any more questions. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in surgery."

Xander watched the doctor walk away with a look of disgust on his face. "I don't care what he says. He's wrong! Buffy moved her hand, and there wasn't a damn thing involuntary about it!" With that, Xander stormed off in the other direction.

Riley was silent. He walked back into the room, pulled the chair closer to the bed, and resumed his normal position by Buffy's beside.

Angel watched for a moment, wishing he could be on the inside, wishing he could be the one sitting by her bed and holding her hand. Instead, he returned to the waiting area. Riley had staked his territory, and all Angel could do now was wait.

* * *

Riley insisted on staying with Buffy overnight. Despite the doubtful stares from the nurses, he was convinced Buffy would wake up soon, or at least move her hand again, and he wanted to be there for it. He remained at her side for most of the day, waiting, hoping it would happen soon.

But by Wednesday evening, Buffy remained in her comatose state, as still as she was when she was first brought in. He ignored the sympathetic looks from his friends Forrest and Graham. Obviously they agreed with the doctor's opinion that Buffy was probably in a permanent coma.

Riley refused to believe that.

As he made his way back to Buffy's room, down the now familiar maze that was the hospital's second floor, he thought he heard something.

Riley peered into Buffy's room and seethed, balling his hands into fists.

_Him again._

He sat by Buffy's side, _holding her hand_, and was talking to her like he actually belonged there.

Riley was not normally a violent person, but every time he saw the vampire, and especially when he was anywhere nearBuffy, something inside of him snapped.

At first, he had tolerated Angel's presence. He understood the vampire had once been an important person in Buffy's life, and they were all worried about Buffy. Angel had come to Sunnydale with only the best intentions in mind. Hadn't he been the one to find Buffy and bring her to the hospital in the first place? And if he hadn't….Riley didn't want to think of that.

Although he was grateful for Angel's role in saving Buffy, he couldn't help feel emasculated. What was the vampire trying to do? Prove he was the better man? Was he trying to say that Riley couldn't take care of his own girlfriend? Now that almost a week had passed and Angel was still here, and for a while from the looks of it, Riley grew tired of his constant presence. What right did he have to be here anyway? He gave Buffy up. He did what he came to do, and now it was time for him to go back to L.A.

But he never seemed to leave this damn hospital. If he wasn't at Buffy's side, he was lurking outside the door, waiting for the second Riley would leave so that he could have a turn.

Riley decided that he'd had enough. He marched into the room, making his presence known. "I think it's time for you to go."

Angel stared at him, seeing the rage and determination on his face. He wasn't about to let this boy tell him what to do. "I'll leave the hospital when I'm good and ready."

"No, not the hospital. I want you to leave Sunnydale."

Angel rose to his feet and stared Riley down. "I'll not leaving until she wakes up."

"She's mine, okay? Get that through your thick skull! You gave her up! You have no right to be in her life anymore."

"I have every right to be in her life," Angel said through gritted teeth. "She will always be important to me. And let's get one thing straight. Buffy isn't 'yours'_._ She's her own person and she doesn't belong to anyone. She just chooses to have you in her life for whatever reason is beyond—"

Riley threw the first punch, knocking Angel backwards and toppling the chair over.

"Kind of weak," Angel taunted, rubbing his jaw, then threw a punch of his own.

"I'm just getting started!" Riley said, grabbing hold of Angel and connecting his fist to his face again.

Angel responded by throwing him against the wall and punching him again, this time, harder. "You made a mistake picking a fight with a vampire, _boy_," he hissed.

"I ought to call my guys and turn you in."

Angel held Riley against the wall, his elbow pressed to his neck. "Oh yeah? Why haven't you? Huh?"

"Because of Buffy," he squeaked out. "But Buffy isn't exactly here right now."

Angel threw Riley down, but he was on his feet seconds later, ready for more. The two moved around the room, pushing, punching, and knocking things down. And soon enough, the two of them were all out fighting, both determined to drag this thing on.

It was about this time that Willow and Tara arrived. For a moment, the two stood in the doorway, stunned at what was going on, then sprang into action.

"Hey! Stop it, you two!" Willow shouted, grabbing hold of the back of Angel's shirt and attempting to pull him off Riley. Tara, meanwhile, tried to restrain Riley. Their efforts were in vain as the two men were much stronger and continued to pummel each other.

It took LaRhonda, one of the more no-nonsense nurses, to finally break it up. She charged into room 218 to see what the commotion was about. "Hey! What's going on here?" she demanded, giving both Angel and Riley a cold stare.

Angel and Riley reluctantly stopped their fighting.

"We have patients trying to rest on this floor! And this kind of behavior is certainly not helping your friend! You two," she pointed to the men. "Leave this room! NOW! And any more fighting and I'll call security!"

Angel and Riley left the room, ignoring the angry glare from the nurse standing behind them. Once convinced they would cause no more trouble, the nurse shook her head and went back to her patients.

"Wow, that was…eventful," Tara said, picking up the fallen chair and placing it back on its legs.

"Yeah. I'll be right back."

Tara nodded, sitting down in the chair beside Buffy as she watched Willow rush out of the room.

In the hallway, Willow caught the Riley and Angel giving each other death stares, and it looked liked they were only seconds away from fighting each other again.

Willow squeezed herself between the two of them, pushing her arms aside to break up the potential fight. "Hey! Now that's enough from you two!" Willow glared at Riley, then gave the same disapproving stare to Angel. "What the hell is wrong with the both of you? Buffy is in that hospital room fighting to come out of this coma! You really think all this negativity is going to help her get better any faster?"

Angel looked down, feeling ashamed. He had left it go too far. "I'm sorry, Willow."

"Me too," Riley added. "Sorry."

"Oh I'm not the one you should be apologizing to! Look, if you two can't get along, then you can both go home. Are we clear?" Willow stared at them both, waiting for an answer.

"I want you gone by tomorrow," Riley said, glaring at Angel. "Call me if something changes, Willow." He then turned on his heel and headed for the elevator, hitting the down button with his fist.

Willow raised an eyebrow at Angel. "You want to tell me what that was all about?"

"Not to be all schoolyard, but he hit me first," Angel replied.

* * *

Tara looked up expectantly as Willow came back to the room. "Is everything alright?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah." She pulled up the other chair and sat down on Buffy's other side. "Riley left to go home, and Angel went off to brood somewhere."

"What were they fighting about?"

Willow gave her a pointed look. "Isn't it obvious?"

Tara looked down at Buffy, who fortunately, didn't seem fazed at all from the commotion in her room moments ago. "Why do men think any problem can be solved with their fist?"

"Because they're _men,_" Willow said with a little smile.

"Men," Tara said, laughing as she shook her head. "You know, I think if women ruled the world, there'd be much less fighting."

"And more shoes," Willow added, giving Buffy a smile. "Right, Buffy?"

Buffy didn't answer, but Willow was still smiling as she looked up at Tara. "That's what Buffy would say."

* * *

"Hey."

Angel looked up when he realized someone was talking to him.

Tara gave him a half-hearted smile. "You okay? Sorry…that-that was a stupid question. I was just leaving to go home and saw you sitting here. I thought maybe I'd see how you were doing."

"How's Buffy?" He looked at her hopefully.

Tara shook her head. "The same. Can I?" Tara indicated the seat next to him, and Angel nodded.

Tara sat down and looked at the posters on the wall for a moment or two. After an awkward silence, Tara was the first to speak.

"I think she'll get better. I mean…I hope at least. I think it's important to stay optimistic, you know?" Tara looked over at Angel, who continued to stare at the wall.

Tara often had trouble striking up conversations with others, but ever since she met Willow and gotten to know her friends, she'd gradually began to come out of her shell. She didn't know Angel well, but quickly realized that he was probably the hardest person to try to talk to, with his brooding, distant stare. Sometimes it was hard to know if he was even hearing what she was saying at all. She realized the irony of the situation. But Tara continued on, because not saying anything at all would seem more awkward at the moment.

"The doctors are kind of pessimistic, don't you think? They're always quick to assume the most dire situation or the worse case scenario, but they never take into account that there are sometimes higher powers at work here. Sometimes miracles happen, you know? I mean, the Powers sent you here, right? There has to be a reason for that. I can't imagine she'd stay in this coma forever, not when the possible fate of the world depends on her. Someone up there has to know how important she is."

Angel looked down at his hand, suddenly interested in twisting a ring around his finger.

"You still love her."

Angel looked at Tara momentarily, then looked down again. "I'll always love Buffy. But our relationship is…complicated."

"Love always is," Tara said with a shrug.

A moment of silence passed before Tara spoke again. "I wasn't always a lesbian. I know that some people say they've always known they were different, but I never gave it much thought. I mean, I liked boys. I had a crush on Leo just like every other girl at my school."

Angel gave Tara a confused look. "Leo?"

"Leonardo DiCaprio," she clarified. "You know, from _Titantic_?"

"Oh. Right. It's been a while since I've been to the movies."

"And then I met Willow," Tara continued. "And I don't know…we just connected. Kindred spirits I guess. I never felt that sort of connection with anyone before. The point is…you can't help who you love."

"The way I feel about Buffy…I've never felt that way before either." Angel looked at Tara. "I've never loved anyone like I love her. Nothing special ever happened in my life until the day she walked into it. She's the one good thing that's happened to me in my miserable existence."

Tara didn't quite know how to respond to that admission, and it didn't matter anyway, for it seemed like this was all the talking Angel was going to do for tonight. He had that distant, brooding look on his face again.

"Well, I better get going," Tara said. "I'm sure I'm talking your ear off. I'm normally not this talkative." Tara stood to her feet and put her purse over her shoulder. "Willow's still here. If you wanted to sit with Buffy, I don't think she'd mind."

Angel looked up at her and gave the girl a smile. "Thanks, Tara."

Tara nodded. "Goodnight."

Angel watched as Tara made her way down the short hallway and into the elevator. He thought about what she said. Was it that obvious he was still in love with Buffy? Perhaps. No wonder Riley Finn wanted him gone. But he couldn't help how he felt. Even when he tried to stop loving her…he couldn't.

So what if Riley Finn had her heart? He'd had it first, and there wasn't anything Riley could do to change that.

* * *

Willow looked up when she heard a light tapping on the door behind her.

"Is it safe for me to come in?" Angel asked.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, it's fine. That nurse is long gone."

Angel walked across the room and sat in the chair on Buffy's left side.

"I didn't think you'd still be here," Willow said.

"I never left. What happened earlier…it should have never happened."

"Riley shouldn't have hit you either. He can get kind of hot-tempered sometimes. Not that I'm excusing his behavior or anything."

"I shouldn't have tried to fight him back though. I'm much stronger than him. I'm sort of glad Buffy didn't wake up for all of that."

"Do you think Buffy will ever wake up?" Willow looked down at Buffy, reaching over to touch her face. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"She will. Buffy's a fighter. She'll make it back to us eventually."

"You never lost hope?"

Angel shook his head. "No, not for a second. Not that I haven't had my moments of sheer panic, but right now, I have no doubt that she'll come back to us."

"I started to lose hope," Willow admitted. "I didn't want to. But I heard some nurses talking about Buffy, about how hopeless it was for her, and it got to me. I was starting to think she'd never wake up. I even thought about trying a healing spell until Tara said it wouldn't work. And then she moved her hand. I don't care that the doctor says it was just a reflex. Xander doesn't seem to think so, and neither do I. She could be trying to come back to us, and the last thing she needs is for all of us to give up on her."

Angel took hold of Buffy's other hand and wrapped his own around it, willing for her to open those beautiful eyes of hers. But Buffy remained as she was.

"Well, I'll be back in a little while," Willow said as she pushed her chair back and stood up. "I think it's time for a coffee run, and then I think I'll raid the vending machine. Want me to bring you back anything?"

Angel shook his head. "No thanks, Willow."

"Okay." Willow gave him a smile as she walked out of the room. Truthfully, she had really wanted to give Angel some time alone with Buffy, since he rarely seemed to get that with Riley around all the time. Although now that she thought about it…she really could use some coffee. It was Willow's turn to stay at the hospital all night and she was going to need it.

Back in room 218, Angel watched Buffy. He wondered, and not for the first time, why the Powers felt it was important for him to save her. The obvious reason, of course, was that he loved her. Angel would do anything to protect Buffy. But Cordelia didn't get visions of every single person in trouble…only a select few. Clearly the Powers needed Buffy to survive for a reason. The fate of the world possibly depended on it.

But if Buffy never awoke…the world was still in trouble. It wasn't that he'd lost hope. He would never give up on Buffy, but what was uncertain was how long Buffy would remain this way. Something was happening in Sunnydale right now, something possibly far more sinister than this town had ever seen. And what if Buffy woke up too late?

Angel bowed his head for a few minutes, resting his head on the edge of the bed as he held on to Buffy's hand. He let his mind wander, thinking of the very first time he had seen Buffy Summers. He hadn't known back then how important she would become in his life, but he had remembered wanting to keep her safe.

He thought of the first time she invited him into her home and insisted he stay the night. She had wanted to protect _him._ She had been just a schoolgirl then, and he was trying his best to fight his feelings for her. He was older…so much older.

_You can't help who you love_, Tara's words said in his mind. It was the truth…you really couldn't. And he wouldn't take back loving Buffy for anything, for she had changed his life in ways that she'd never know.

It was in that very moment he heard the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Angel?"

Angel's head shot up. He was certain his mind was playing tricks on him, but he hadn't imagined it at all. Staring back at him were two tired, but beautiful hazel-green eyes.

Buffy was awake.

* * *

A/N: :)


	8. Welcome Back

"Buffy! You're….you're _awake!_" Angel could hardly contain the excitement in his voice.

Buffy gazed around the room, taking in her surroundings. She quickly realized she was in the hospital. What was not immediately apparent was how she'd gotten there in the first place. She looked to Angel for answers. "What…what happened?"

"You were attacked. Your injuries were quite serious."

"Attacked?" Buffy tried to remember, but all she came up with was a blank. The only thing she was certain of was that she felt like hell. She was sore all over and had a mother of a headache. Buffy did a quick assessment of her condition. An IV line was stuck in her arm. Under her hospital gown, she felt bandages covering her abdomen, and when she touched the side of her head, she realized that was bandaged as well. So that was why her head hurt. "What's wrong with me?"

She felt Angel squeeze her hand, and felt comforted by the gesture. She was scared, and she hated hospitals. But somehow having Angel there made her feel better.

"You had a serious head injury. You were in a coma."

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "I've been in a coma?"

Angel nodded.

"What was it? I…I don't remember. Vampires? A demon?"

"Vampires. Cordelia had a vision you were in danger. I found you in the cemetery behind the Bronze."

"Cordelia what?"

Angel didn't hear her question. He stood up, smiling. "I'm going to get the nurse. I'll be right back, okay?"

"No, wait, don't leave me." Buffy grabbed his arm, holding him back.

Angel looked at Buffy, seeing the terror in her eyes. She looked scared, confused. He sat back down and held her hand again. "It's okay. I won't leave you. You're going to be okay."

"I'm so glad you're here. You look so tired."

"Because I haven't slept in days. I've been waiting for you to wake up."

"How long was I out?"

"Six days."

"_Six days?"_ What had she been doing six days ago? "Oh god. What day is it?"

"It's Wednesday."

Wednesday, which meant she had been in a coma since Friday. And last weekend had been…no, it couldn't have been…. Of all the weekends to be in a coma…

"You okay?" Angel asked, sensing Buffy's sudden shift in mood.

"I missed it, didn't I?"

Angel shook his head at her, not understanding. "Miss what?"

"The prom."

He'd been so relieved to see Buffy awake and alert, _actually talking_, that the question she asked threw him for a moment. "I'm sorry…the prom?"

"I told you about this. Remember? High school rite of passage? Formal dance thingy? I have this amazing dress…"

"Buffy, the prom—"

"Oh, I know. You're going to go all Giles on me now and say I should be thinking about more important things than a silly dance, like getting out of this hospital, or what Faith is up to, or the doomsday that's the mayor's ascension." She gave Angel the brightest smile he had seen since she awoke. "But I really wanted you to see my dress. I can't believe I missed it."

Buffy waited for Angel to say something, but he seemed somewhat distant, and he had the strangest expression on his face. "What? What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"No, it's not nothing. You've got a 'something' face. What's the matter?"

"Buffy, what's the last thing you remember?"

"I don't know. My memory's a little fuzzy. I guess I remember patrolling? Yeah, we were patrolling. In a sewer I think. But wait, you said you found me at the cemetery. I don't understand. Did we get separated or something? What happened?"

Angel didn't immediately answer her, which made her worry. "Angel?"

"Buffy, I'm not sure how to tell you this."

"Okay, you're starting to scare me."

"First of all, you didn't miss your prom. We already went."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, trying to understand what he was saying. "What?"

"You don't remember going to the prom?"

"We already went?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah."

"How could I not remember my own prom? It's the only thing I've been looking forward to."

"We already stopped the mayor's ascension too. It was at your graduation. You don't remember any of this?"

Buffy shook her head, suddenly feeling frustrated. "_Graduation? _What? No! I can't…I don't remember!"

"I think I should find the doctor."

Buffy's eyes grew wide, and she panicked. "Wait. Just tell me. What month is it?"

"It's June."

_June_! "Oh thank god."

Angel gave her a look, confused at the sudden relief she felt.

"It's only June. At least I haven't forgotten too much. For a minute there, I thought you were about to tell me that I'd forgotten way more than just the prom and graduation."

But Angel didn't smile, didn't even seem to share her joy. And in that instant, Buffy knew. "It's not June of 1999, is it?"

* * *

The hospital's coffee left a lot to be desired, Willow thought as she took a sip from her cup. It wasn't Starbucks quality, but it was caffeine and it would do for now. Caffeine was what she needed tonight. Caffeine…and chocolate. Willow dug around in her pocket for some change. There was a bag of M&Ms in that vending machine and it had her name on them.

Before she'd even put her change into the machine, someone tapped her lightly on the arm. Willow turned around to see one of the nurses standing beside her.

"Excuse me, are you Willow?"

"Yes."

"Your friend, the tall guy with dark hair? He asked me to find you and tell you to come immediately. He said your friend just woke up."

"She…she _what? _Oh my god! Thank you!"

Willow turned in the other direction, a sugar fix the last thing on her mind now. She raced down the hall and turned the corner, hoping to not run over any hospital staff in her haste.

Buffy was awake, and she couldn't wait to see her!

* * *

Willow approached the room cautiously. For one fearful moment, she was afraid this had all been a dream, that she imagined the nurse in the hallway and that Buffy would still be lying in the bed with her eyes closed. But as she walked into the room, she heard voices, and she was relieved to discover that it hadn't been her imagination at all.

The doctor was sitting on the edge of Buffy's bed, talking to Buffy. _Talking to Buffy! _And she was actually_ talking back!_

Buffy was sitting up, tired looking, but awake. Angel was at his usual spot beside her bed.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" the doctor asked, holding up two fingers and moving his hand to the side of Buffy's head.

"Two."

"And now?"

"Four."

"And do you remember those three words I told you a few minutes ago?"

"Pencil, cat, and…tomato."

The doctor smiled at Buffy. "Right. That's very good. Your short-term memory seems to be intact."

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned her head toward the door and smiled. "Will."

"Oh, Buffy, I'm so glad you're awake!" Willow put her coffee down and practically ran across the room. She threw her arms around Buffy, being careful not to mess up the IV still attached to her. "I was so afraid you'd never wake up!"

Buffy held on to her just as tightly, relieved to be awake. She had been shocked to learn she had been in a coma for nearly a week, and she could only imagine the ordeal it had been for all of her friends.

Willow let her go, looking down to get a good look at her. She was so happy to see Buffy's eyes open, and she felt tears welling in her own.

"Oh, Willow, your hair."

Willow touched her hair, suddenly self-conscious. "My hair?"

"It's different. Shorter. You've got layers. It looks nice."

Willow thought the compliment was odd. Buffy had been there when she got her hair cut the last time. She'd seen it before. But Willow played along. "Oh, well thanks. So how are you feeling?"

"A little headachy. And tired. But otherwise okay. Although I'd certainly feel a lot better if I could remember the last year of my life."

Willow looked at Buffy in confusion. "You can't remember?"

"Retrograde amnesia," Dr. Drake said, filling her in. "It's when a person is unable to recall events that happened in the past, and it's the form of amnesia most people are familiar with. Memory loss isn't uncommon after head injuries like this." The doctor turned to Buffy. "You're fortunate that you've only lost a year of your memory. Some of my patients aren't able to remember anything at all, including their own name."

Buffy supposed she should be grateful. At least she knew who she was. But a large chunk of time from her life was completely gone. And she wanted more than anything to have it back.

"Will she get her memory back?" Angel asked, voicing the very question that had been on Buffy's mind.

"I can't really answer that because it's different from patient to patient. Some patients recover all of their memories, usually after a few weeks or a couple of months. Some only recover partial memories. Others never remember at all."

"What can I do then? What can I do that would help me remember?" Buffy asked him.

"Your friends can help you. If you're surrounded by familiar people, familiar places, something, even something insignificant, can trigger your memory. But it might take some time."

"Right," Buffy nodded, knowing that would be his answer.

Dr. Drake looked at Angel, then at Willow. "I'd caution you both to not bombard her with too many details at once, or push her to remember events she can't recall. That'll only make recovery more difficult for her. If she's going to remember anything, she'll have to remember it in her own time."

"We won't push her," Willow promised.

Dr. Drake looked at Buffy and smiled at her. "Miss Summers, I know this is difficult for you, but I want you to know you're a very lucky woman. I've seen patients just like yourself wake up and have to relearn everything. How to walk, how to talk. I'd say from the looks of things, you're going to be just fine. And if I'm completely honest with you, when you first came in, I wasn't sure you were going to make it through the surgery at all. But you surprised me. You must have had some kind of angel looking after you."

Buffy turned to Angel and smiled. _In more ways than one_, she thought.

* * *

The first person Willow called was Tara, who had been ecstatic to hear Buffy was awake. She then called the Magic Box and had been lucky enough to reach the rest of the group, who had been no doubt researching into the late hours of the night. Giles and Xander were on their way now.

The last call was the one Willow dreaded to make. Riley. She struggled with how she would tell Riley that Buffy wouldn't remember him, and wondered if maybe she should wait until Riley arrived to tell him in person. Someone certainly needed to give him a little warning. Buffy as well. From what she had gathered, Buffy still thought she and Angel were together. The way she'd been looking at Angel and holding his hand was telling enough.

Willow put the change into the phone. Her fingers were shaking so badly that she kept pressing the wrong numbers. A third attempt at dialing was finally successful, and she waited anxiously for Riley to pick up the phone.

The phone rang several times with no answer. "Come on," Willow said as she nervously twisted the phone cord between her fingers, anxious to get this phone call over with.

At Riley's apartment, the shower running drowned out the sound of the ringing phone, and Riley was unaware.

After a few more rings, the answering machine clicked on.

"_Hey, this is Riley."_

"_And Buffy."_

"_We're not here to take your call, but leave us a message…"_

"_And we'll call you back."_

The answering machine beeped, and Willow had no choice but to leave a message. "Riley, it's Willow. Are you there? Pick up." She waited a few seconds, giving him a chance to answer. "Okay, I guess you can't come to the phone at the moment. When you get this message, come to the hospital immediately. But don't worry, it's good news. Buffy just woke up! Okay, see you soon."

Willow placed the phone back on its cradle. She couldn't tell Riley about Buffy on the machine. This kind of news was best to be told in person anyway, she figured.

* * *

"I'm so sorry I worried you guys," Buffy said as she looked around the room, seeing Giles, Xander, Willow, and Angel all around her. "I have no idea what happened but in the future, I'll try not to get myself killed."

"We're just so grateful that you're alright, Buffy," Giles said, and Buffy almost swore there was a tear in his eye.

"I knew you'd pull through," Xander said, giving Buffy's hand a squeeze. "I never gave up on you."

"So what happened to me out there?" Buffy asked the group, addressing no one in particular.

Giles was the one who answered. "You went a routine patrol and apparently had a run-in with some unusually virile vampires. Angel saw them."

Buffy turned to Angel. "You saw them?"

Angel nodded. "They were strong, stronger than me. They made 'The Three' look like a walk in the park."

"Wow. No wonder I couldn't take them down. But you're okay? Did you kill them?"

"I killed three of them, but I don't know how I managed to. I guess when I saw you in that cemetery…I was so scared. All I could think of was protecting you."

Buffy gave him a smile. "You saved my life."

"One of them got away, Buffy. I don't know why he took off, but he's still out there."

"You think I'm still in danger?"

"You're safe now," Angel said, giving her a smile. "I won't let anything else happen to you."

"Wow, I can't believe this. Was I really in a coma for six days?"

Willow nodded. "You really were."

"But we never left your side the whole time," Xander said.

"I'm so glad you're all here. I couldn't go through all this alone." Buffy smiled at Angel again. "Hey, where's my mom? I'm surprised she isn't hovering outside the door." There was laughter in Buffy's voice, for she knew how overprotective her mother could be. "Someone called her, right?"

The room fell silent, and suddenly, no one could look her in the eye. Buffy immediately sensed the change in mood. Something was wrong, and a feeling of dread began to settle upon her. "Guys, is someone going to answer me? Where's my mom? Angel?" She turned to Angel for answers, to everyone else's relief. No one wanted to be the one to tell her that Joyce Summers was gone and never coming back.

Angel reached for Buffy's hand, hating that he had to break this news to her. Joyce's death had devastated Buffy a few months ago. The image of Buffy lying in her bed on the day of the funeral still haunted him, and Angel would do anything to prevent Buffy from feeling that pain again. "Buffy—"

"There's a good reason she's not here, right?" Buffy asked, interrupting him. "Is she hurt? Is she sick? She's somewhere in the hospital, right?"

Angel could sense the panic in her voice. He chose his words carefully. "No, Buffy, she's not here at the hospital."

"Then where is she? Call her. Call her now."

But Angel made no attempt to pick up the phone by Buffy's bedside. "Buffy…I'm sorry. I can't do that."

"Why not?" she demanded.

He couldn't find the words, but Buffy understood from the look on his face alone. "No." Buffy shook her head, not wanting to believe it. "No…not that."

"Buffy, I'm so sorry."

"No." Buffy continued to shake her head, refusing to accept what he was saying. Her chin started to quiver.

"It was a car accident back in March. A drunk driver ran a red light. Buffy, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother didn't survive."

She felt as if those words literally sliced her heart in half, and she was unable to stop the sudden flow of tears from her eyes. She wished she could say she felt relieved that it wasn't vampires. She knew she'd never be able to forgive herself if she hadn't been able to protect her own mother. But she didn't feel relief. She felt heavy with grief. Her mother was dead. She was _dead! _She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen her alive. She'd been robbed of her last memories of her mother, and she would never see her again.

Angel wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and trying to comfort her just as he had done before. He felt her tears soak his shirt as the heavy sobs racked her small body. The harder she cried, the tighter her held her.

* * *

Riley could have kicked himself. It was his luck, of course. As he ran down the corridor, he knew he should have never left. Buffy was awake, and he had missed it. And no doubt the vampire had been there to see it.

He made his way towards Buffy's room and spotted Willow and Xander standing just outside the door. "Willow!"

Willow turned her head at the sound of her name. With everything that had happened tonight, she had completely forgotten about Riley. How was she going to explain this to him?

"I got your message. I was in the shower and didn't hear the phone. How's Buffy?" When Willow didn't answer right away, he feared the worse. "Willow, what's wrong?"

"Buffy's fine," she said quickly, not wanting to give Riley the wrong idea.

Riley looked from Willow to Xander, sensing that something wasn't quite right with the situation. "But what's the matter?"

"Buffy sort of has amnesia," Willow explained.

"Amnesia? What, you mean she can't remember any of us?"

"Actually, she can remember, but…"

"She woke up thinking it was 1999," Xander answered for her. "She's completely blanked out the last year of her life."

Riley took a moment to think about what that meant. "Does she not know who I am?" The look on Willow's face alone told Riley the answer.

"I'm so sorry, Riley."

"I need to see her."

Willow grabbed Riley's arm, holding him back. "Riley, wait. She's not awake now."

"What do you mean? She's just sleeping, right?"

"They sedated her. She became upset when she asked for her mother and found out why she isn't here. The doctor didn't want her getting too stressed out. Something about her having a relapse if she did…"

"It's like she's lost her all over again," Riley said, imagining what Buffy must be going through.

Willow nodded. "She didn't take it so well. How could anybody take that news well?"

"Well memory or not, I need to see her." Riley walked past Willow and opened the door.

At the sound of the door opening, Angel stood up. He wasn't surprised to see Riley here. Buffy was out of her coma, and he would want to be here.

Riley stared at the vampire. "I need to be with Buffy. Alone."

Angel looked past Riley over to Willow. "Does he know?"

Willow nodded. "I told him."

"Buffy won't know you," Angel said, looking at Riley. "If you're here when she wakes—"

"I'm her boyfriend. I have every right to be here when she wakes up." Riley looked over at Buffy, seeing her exactly as he'd seen her for the past six days. Thank god she was only sedated for now.

Angel didn't attempt to move, and Riley moved closer. "I'm asking you to leave you now. You said you wouldn't leave until she woke up. Well now she's out of the coma, so it's time for you to go."

"It's okay, Angel," Willow said in a soft voice. "I won't be too far away."

Angel looked at Riley, who continued to stare him down, and realized he was being kicked out. He took one more look at Buffy, wanting to touch her, but he didn't dare in front of Riley. "Tell Buffy I'll be back tomorrow," he asked Willow, glaring at Riley before walking out of the room. He _would _be back, whether Riley liked it or not. He slipped past Xander in the hallway, who was oddly quiet without his usual snarky remarks.

Riley took the seat Angel had vacated moments ago and settled in for the night.

Willow looked back and Xander, who seemed just as confused as she did about the situation.

"I guess I'm going to go too," he said. "Call me if you need me, Will?"

"Sure."

* * *

It was morning.

Buffy slowly opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. She felt groggy rather than refreshed, and just wanted to go back to sleep.

It was a man's voice that brought Buffy out of her morning haze.

"_You're awake. Thank god."_

The voice sounded distant. Angel?

Before Buffy had a chance to process what was going on in her mind, she felt his lips on hers. No, not Angel. _Definitely not Angel._ Her eyes snapped wide-opened and she struggled to push the stranger away. He didn't seem eager to move, and with all the drugs in her system, she felt too weak to fight back.

"Get off of me!" she spat out, getting a good look at the strange man for the first time.

"Buffy, I'm—I'm sorry. I—"

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Buffy, it's _me_! Riley!" His eyes pleaded for her recognition, but Buffy just stared at him with daggers in her eyes. "I'm your boyfriend."

"No you're not. My boyfriend is Angel."

* * *

A/N: I usually don't like amnesia storylines, at least on soaps anyway because they tend to make me more frustrated than anything (Like when they tear apart my favorite couples! But I digress…). But this is actually an amnesia story that I love. Hope you do, too!

And to **MacKenzie**…I about fell out of my chair when you said it'd be funny if Buffy forgot Riley…are you reading my mind?! LOL :)


	9. There's No One Better Than You

"Hey, how's Buffy?" Tara asked Willow on the other end of the line.

"She's still sleeping. Riley's been sitting with her. I'm still dreading how this whole Angel/Riley thing's going to go down." Willow took hold of her coffee cup, which had been sitting precariously on the edge of the phone booth, and took a sip.

"I still can't believe she has amnesia. That's like something that happens on a soap opera, not in reality. What must it be like to not remember the last year of your life?"

"Let's hope neither of us has to ever find out. I can't imagine what I'd do if I woke up and didn't know who you were."

Tara smiled as she tended to filling Miss Kitty's food dish. "It would be okay. I'd just have to spend every waking moment reminding you. And if you still didn't remember, then I'd just have to remember for the both of us."

"Hey, Tara?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you. I'm sorry I didn't come home last night."

"Oh no, that's okay. I understand. You need to be there with Buffy. Do you want me to come over later? Or do you think it would be too overwhelming for her to remember another person?"

"Let's give her a day or so to adjust. Listen, I better go. She'll probably be waking up soon. I should be there."

"Okay. Well tell her I said hello. Or not. I guess it doesn't matter if she won't remember me."

"I'll be home soon."

"Okay, see you then."

"Bye." Willow carefully put the phone back on its cradle and grabbed the two coffee cups sitting on the ledge. _Here goes nothing_…she thought to herself.

* * *

"Get out!"

Buffy's harsh words stung. Riley had to remember that this Buffy didn't know him, but it didn't make the words hurt any less. "Buffy…I…"

"I don't know you! Just get out!"

Willow came sauntering into the room with the cups of coffee, unaware of the tension heavy in the air. "Okay, they didn't have flavored coffee so I got some cream and—oh, Buffy, you're awake!"

"Willow, thank god! Who is this man?"

Willow looked from Buffy to Riley, silently kicking herself for leaving the room. "It's okay, Buffy. He's good. He's Riley."

"He says he's my boyfriend."

Willow glared at Riley. "You shouldn't have told her that."

"What was I supposed to do, Willow? Lie to her?"

Buffy watched this exchange between Willow and the strange man, then stared at Riley. "I want you to go!"

"Buffy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."

"You _kissed her?" _Willow hissed at Riley.

Riley shrugged his shoulders apologetically.

Buffy turned to Willow, on the verge of hysteria. "Where's Angel? I want Angel!"

Riley flinched at the mention of the vampire's name. Of course she wanted Angel. _She always wanted Angel._

"He'll be back later, Buffy," Willow explained.

"I need to see Angel!" Buffy turned to Riley, who remained in his spot. "I thought I told you to get out!"

Giles happened to walk into the room at this moment. One look at a nervous Willow, a shell-shocked Riley, and a hysterical Buffy, he became worried. "What on earth is going on?"

"Giles!" Buffy cried, and Giles rushed to her side. She threw herself in his embrace and sobbed into his tweed jacket.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Riley explained. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

"Buffy, I…" Willow started, but she was crying so loudly that conversation was impossible right now.

"Maybe you two should step out for a moment?" Giles suggested.

Riley and Willow nodded silently and reluctantly left the room.

* * *

"Your coffee's getting cold," Willow said, handing the cup to Riley.

He took the cup from her, but was in no hurry to drink it.

Willow sat down beside Riley and tried to think of something comforting to say. But Riley was first to speak, interrupting her thoughts.

"She didn't recognize me. I thought…I thought she would remember. But the way she looked at me, like I was a complete stranger. I sat at her side the whole time, waiting for her to wake up, talking to her, holding her hand. But she looked at me and didn't know me at all."

Willow touched his arm lightly. "She will, Riley. Just give her a little time."

That was easier said than done, Riley thought. How fortunate Willow was that Buffy at least remembered her. He tried not to feel hurt that Buffy couldn't remember him. She wasn't forgetting him on purpose. And she was alive, wasn't she? Wasn't that the most important thing of all?

"There's Giles," Willow said, standing up and walking over to him. "Giles."

"The doctor needed to examine her and run a few tests. I had to leave," Giles explained.

Willow stared at Giles expectantly. "How's Buffy?"

"Is she okay?" Riley asked hesitantly.

"She's calmed down some, but still rather emotional. The doctor said she might be like this for a while."

"I'm really sorry, Giles. It was my fault. I shouldn't have kissed her. I wasn't thinking."

"No one blames you, Riley. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you."

"She's my world, Giles. If she can't remember me…if she doesn't know who I am…"

Giles gave the boy a sympathetic look. "Riley, I know this is difficult for you, but I think the best thing for you to do right now is to give Buffy some space. She'll come around, but right now, it's too soon."

"Some space?" Riley may have been upset a moment ago, but now he was just angry. "I should give Buffy some 'space'? So what am I supposed to do, huh? Just wait around until she finally remembers me, if she remembers me at all?"

Giles frowned, feeling his intent was lost on the boy. "Riley, I didn't mean—"

"Just save it, Giles. That's fine. I'll go. I'll give Buffy her 'space'!"

Riley turned on his heel and stormed out of the waiting room, tossing his untouched coffee in the trash on his way out.

Willow caught Giles' worried stare. "I'll talk to him later."

"He's not taking the news so well I gather."

Willow stared at the closing elevator doors, watching Riley leave. "No, not really."

"Neither is Buffy I'm afraid."

"Do you think the doctor will be long?"

"I'm not sure. Willow, she's asking for Angel."

"Yeah, I know. I'll call him."

* * *

Buffy hugged her pillow and stared at the wall. She wanted out of this place, and not just out of the hospital, but out of this world that didn't make sense. She missed her mother. She missed Angel. She missed when her biggest problems were the mayor's ascension and applying to college. Why couldn't things have stayed the same?

She didn't hear him come in. She felt him, rather. Buffy turned around, not knowing if she should smile or cry at seeing Angel standing over her bed.

She moved to sit up as Angel sat on the edge of her bed. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke—"

"Angel." Buffy threw her arms around him, holding him tight. He was here. He was really here. Nothing else mattered, and whatever had happened before had to be wrong. "Tell me it's not true," she whispered into his shirt. Buffy pulled away from him slowly and looked into his eyes. "Tell me it's not true, Angel."

Angel gave her a questioning look, not sure what exactly she was asking.

"They said you and I weren't together anymore, but that's not true, is it? I mean it can't be true. We love each other. I'm still your girl, right?" Buffy stared into his eyes, waiting for his answer.

"You'll always be my girl."

"So it's not true?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Buffy, but I won't lie to you."

Buffy was silent for a moment, letting the meaning of his words sink in as a tear fell down her cheek. "So we're not…?"

Angel shook his head. "No, we're not together. I've been living in L.A. for about a year now."

"Whose decision was it? To break up I mean."

"It was mine."

Buffy turned away from Angel and laid back down. She clutched her pillow tight. "I wish I had stayed in a coma."

Angel placed his hand on her arm. "Don't you ever say that."

The tone of Angel's voice took her by surprise, and Buffy turned her head slightly and stared up at him.

"Do you know how scared I was? When I saw you lying on the ground? Buffy, you almost _died._ You probably would have if I hadn't found you. And when it looked like you might never wake up? Buffy, I don't know which of those options is worse. At least in death, you'd be at peace, and you wouldn't be in pain. But being trapped in your own mind, locked inside with no hope of ever coming out of it? Buffy, that's no way to live."

"I wasn't in pain," Buffy said quietly. "I don't remember much at all actually. But I wasn't in pain. At least not like I am now."

"Buffy—"

"You broke up with me. I get it. But what I don't understand is why? Do you not love me anymore?"

"No, of course not. If anything, I love you too much."

"I still don't understand."

"Buffy, you know we can't be together."

"Haven't we been through this already? We don't have to make love to be intimate, Angel. We can still be together."

Angel took hold of her hand. "At what cost? There are things I can never give you, Buffy. You know that. I can't give you a normal relationship. I left because I wanted to give you a chance at having that. A chance to be with someone better than me."

"But there's no one better than you."

"Riley—"

"I don't care about that Riley guy! I don't even know him! But I know _you_, Angel! And I love _you._ And this is _not_ some schoolgirl crush! Don't you see that? I can't imagine loving anyone else. How could anyone make me feel as happy as I am when I'm with you?"

"When you get your memory back, you might feel different."

Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"A lot of things have changed in both our lives. We can't just pick up where we left off."

"I think you're wrong."

"Buffy—"

"Look, I understand things have changed, and I understand your reasons. But I don't have to be happy about it, and I still think you're wrong."

"You know that no matter what, I'll always be there for you. And I'd do anything to keep you safe."

"Is that why you came? To rescue me?"

"You were in danger. I had to save you."

"So what now? Are you going back to L.A.?"

"No. I'm staying here for a while. I'll stay here for as long as you need me to."

"Do you really mean that?"

Angel hated that she had to ask, but it was his fault, he supposed. He'd broken her trust. She had to believe him. "Yes, I mean that."

"Good. Then I'll have more time to convince you to change your mind about us."

"You should get some rest," Angel said, changing the subject. "You look exhausted."

"I feel like I've done nothing but sleep," Buffy argued, but settled into a more comfortable position on her side anyway. She did feel quite exhausted. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Angel nodded. "I'll stay with you."

Buffy closed her eyes, satisfied that at least for now, he was here. And soon enough, she fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: So I feel compelled to explain Angel for a moment. He's very internally conflicted right now. He's torn between doing what he thinks is right (leaving Buffy, because they can't have a "normal" relationship) and what his heart _wants_ to do (stay with her, because he loves her). Regardless, he still wants to stay and protect Buffy, especially since something bad is going on in Sunnydale, but the more time Angel spends with her, the harder it will be for him to leave. Thus, the whole reason for him being so conflicted…

Thanks all for reading…until Chapter 10! :)


	10. An Odd Group

Buffy had long since fallen back asleep, but Angel stayed with her. He wished he had stayed overnight and not let Riley have his way. The last thing Buffy needed was another shock in her world, although she seemed to take the news of their breakup better than he had expected.

It hadn't occurred to Angel that Buffy could lose her memory as he waited day and night by her side. He was just grateful she was alive, and grateful her condition wasn't more serious. He was glad the truth was out in the open. Angel could never stand for lying to her and keeping up the pretense. Buffy had to know the truth of what happened the past year, and that included his leaving.

As he watched her sleep, he couldn't help but mull over everything Buffy had said. She still believed they had a future, but what kind of future could they possibly have? They couldn't really pick up where they left off…could they? The more he thought about it, the harder it was to resist staying away.

He certainly wasn't leaving her now, and that was at least one thing he was sure of.

A soft knock on the door pulled Angel out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Cordelia poking her head in the doorway.

"Hey. Is this a bad time?"

"No, she's sleeping," he whispered. "Come in."

Cordelia hadn't visited Buffy much when she was in the coma. Buffy had had enough visitors anyway with all of her close friends holding a constant vigil at her side. "She looks much better," she whispered, taking a seat on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"How did she take the news?" Cordelia had heard about Buffy, about how her mind was stuck in 1999 and how she believed she and Angel to still be together.

"She took it okay. She said she understood my reasons but that she didn't have to be happy about it."

"Well that sounds like Buffy."

Cordelia and Angel both looked to the door as it opened again.

A nurse smiled politely at them. "Some flowers for the patient," she said, indicating the vase of daisies.

"I'll take them," Cordelia said, taking the vase and sitting them on the table.

Once the nurse left, Cordelia turned the vase of flowers around until she found the card tucked inside. She took the small envelope out and began to open it.

"Cordy, what are you doing?"

"I'm just seeing who they're from," Cordelia shrugged her shoulders. "Yes, I'm a little nosy. So what?" Cordelia took the tiny card out and read it aloud.

"'Buffy, hope you feel better soon. P.S. Tell Angel he owes me half a twenty next time he sees me. –W.'" Cordelia handed the card to Angel. "'W'? Who's 'W"? These can't be from Willow or Wesley…"

"Willy."

"Oh, right. What's the part about the half twenty?"

"Nothing important."

"You're _paying_ him?"

"If he gives good information, yeah."

"You know you could just beat him up. You don't have to pay him."

"He'll cooperate more if he knows cash is involved." Angel rose to his feet and looked down at Buffy, still sleeping. "Can you sit with her for a while? I don't want her to wake up and be alone."

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks. If she wakes up, tell her I'll be back soon. I've got to go see what this is about."

* * *

The bar was completely deserted at the noon hour, which was a good thing, Willy thought. He didn't want or need an audience.

"Angel, you got my message. Wow, that was quick. Hey, I heard the Slayer was doing better. I called the hospital and told them I was her Uncle Willy. The broad who answered the phone totally bought it."

Angel walked over the bar. "What information do you have for me?"

Willy looked around his empty bar, double-checking to make sure they were alone. "You didn't hear this from me, understood? If my patrons around here found out I was spilling all their secret plans to the Slayer's friends, they'd have my head in a heartbeat. It's amazing what some of them will say once you give them a little alcohol."

"Willy…" Angel said, urging him to continue.

"Right. So last night, this group of rough looking demons were hanging around here. They were saying how they couldn't wait until they had free reign of this town, like they had all sorts of plans to cause trouble."

"What else did you hear?"

Willy leaned in closer, lowing his voice. "One of them said something about opening a Hellmouth? How phase one of the plan was almost complete. I don't know when this is all going to go down. A month? Maybe two? But it looks like they're gathering their forces and getting ready for something around here. Something big."

"Hear anything else?"

"That's pretty much it. Up to you to make heads or tails of it but I thought you might want to know."

"Thanks, Willy. I trust you'll let me know if you hear anything else?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good."

Angel started to walk away when Willy stopped him. "Hey, aren't you forgetting something?"

Angel turned around and dug into his pocket. "Right." He took out the half twenty, along with a five dollar bill for tip, and placed it into his greedy palm.

* * *

"Cordelia?" Buffy blinked her eyes, still drowsy from her nap.

Cordelia looked up from her magazine and over to Buffy. "Oh, you're awake. Angel said he'd be right back. He had some kind of errand to run. How are you feeling?"

Buffy sat up slowly, ignoring her question. "Where did he go?"

"He went to see that Willy guy at the bar? I guess he had some information. Oh look, he even sent you flowers." Cordelia indicated the vase of flowers on the table.

"Willy the Snitch sent me flowers? Well, I guess stranger things have happened."

"Yeah, speaking of strange, I guess I'm probably the last person you'd expect to come visit you, huh?"

"Truth be told, yeah actually. How are you, Cordelia?"

"Better than you it looks like. I'm so sorry about everything. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Helpful Cordelia? Buffy shook her head. "I just wish everything was normal again." Buffy laughed, the irony of that statement. "What am I talking about? Things were never normal for me in the first place. I just wish I could remember." Buffy tried to think of something Angel had told her. What had he said about Cordelia last night? "Angel mentioned you last night. He said something about…oh what was it? Oh yeah, he said you had a vision or something? But I don't really understand what he was talking about."

"Oh, right. I guess you wouldn't. Well, it's kind of a long story."

Buffy gave her a pointed look. "I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while."

"Right. Well, he told you about AI didn't he?"

"What?"

"Angel Investigations," Cordelia clarified. "Our business?"

Buffy shook her head. "He said he was living in L.A. He didn't say anything about having a business."

"Oh. Well, we have this detective agency you see. Angel, Wesley, and I. Not like cheating spouses or anything like that, I mean, unless we're desperate to get some bills paid. But mostly it's paranormal cases we take—"

"Wait, did you say Wesley? As in my watcher Wesley?"

"Oh yeah, that's right. You wouldn't remember that either. He got fired from the Watchers' Council. I don't remember why exactly. But he ran into us in L.A. Said he was working as a rogue demon hunter."

Buffy couldn't help but laugh out a loud. "A _what_?" When she thought of Wesley, the words "rogue" and "demon hunter" didn't exactly come to mind.

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, he's really smart, especially when it comes to demony-type things, so now he works with us."

Buffy thought of her former watcher, and the image of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce with his sophisticated wardrobe and immaculate manners didn't quite mesh with a brooding vampire and former high school cheerleader.

"I know what you're thinking. What an odd group, huh? But we work surprisingly well together. And Wesley's changed…a lot. I mean, he's still the same old Wesley in some ways, but there's a different side to him. Did you know he rides a motorcycle?"

Buffy laughed again. "Now I know you're kidding!"

"I wish I was! I had to insist we rent a car to drive up here. I wasn't about to show up in Sunnydale to see old friends with helmet hair."

"It sounds like you three have a good thing going."

"Yeah, we really do. We're like family now. So anyway, like I was saying, we have this detective business. Paranormal investigations mostly, like if you have some crazy demon after you or something, people call us. Or if I get a vision of someone in trouble, we go help them out."

"So you had a vision? A vision of me?" Buffy shook her head, still not understanding what Cordelia was saying.

"Yeah. The visions are…a gift I suppose. Or a curse, depending on how you look at it I guess. Before Wesley came along, Angel and I worked with this guy named Doyle. He was half-demon, but he was a nice guy. A really good friend actually. Doyle would get these visions of people in trouble. The down side was that the visions would be followed by these mind-numbing migraines, but whenever he'd get a vision, Angel would go investigate and help whoever was in trouble. But then Doyle died, and somehow, his gift transferred to me. So anyway, that's the story in a nutshell. Now I get the visions and I had a vision of you, and that's why Angel came to Sunnydale."

"So…help me understand. How exactly did you start this business?"

"Well, I left for L.A. after graduation. Thought I'd try my hand at acting. I didn't know Angel was in town until I ran into him one night. Boy was I glad to see him! I barely knew anyone out there and it was so nice to see a familiar face. And then he saved my life. He and Doyle. And that's how it all started. You know, it's funny, but I spent three years trying to get out of Sunnydale and away from all of the craziness that happens here, and now I'm involved more than ever before. And I actually don't hate it so much now."

The door opened, and Buffy was disappointed when it was only a lady with a food tray, not Angel. She moved the rolling bed tray closer to the bed and placed the food on top of it.

"I'm not hungry," Buffy told her.

"Well, honey, I can't help that," she replied. "I only bring the food when they tell me to."

The lady left the room as quickly as she came, and Buffy frowned, moving the food away from her.

"You really should eat something you know," Cordelia said. "I know thin is in but if you lose any more weight, you're going to disappear."

"I'm not hungry," Buffy said again. "You know, you don't have to stay here with me. I don't need a babysitter."

"I know. I'm just staying here because Angel asked me to. He's worried about you. He's a little overprotective sometimes when it comes to you."

"Yeah, I know. Look, I think I'm just going to rest for a while. You really don't have to stay."

"You sure?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm sure. I just want to rest for a while until Angel comes back."

"Okay." Cordelia rose to her feet. "If Angel asks though, you be sure to tell him that I only left because you asked me to."

Buffy watched as Cordelia picked up her magazine and threw her bag over her shoulder.

"See you later," she said, walking out the door.

Once alone, Buffy closed her eyes. She hadn't been lying to get rid of Cordelia; she really was tired. And before long, she dozed off to sleep again.

* * *

Buffy wasn't sure how long she slept, but it couldn't have been too long. Her plate of untouched food still sat on her bed tray.

Feeling his familiar presence, Buffy looked over to her side. Angel was sitting beside her in the chair.

"Hey," he said, smiling at her.

"Hey. You're back."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just still so tired."

"Cordelia said you didn't eat your lunch."

"Not hungry. I thought Cordelia left."

"She left a little while ago." Angel reached across the bed and rolled the bed tray closer to Buffy. "You need to eat something."

"But I—"

"I know you're not hungry, and who could possibly have an appetite after all you've been through? But you still need to eat." Angel lifted the lid off the plate of food.

Buffy glared at him. "What are you, the food police?"

"I'm just worried about you."

Buffy eyed her plate, wondering what on her tray could possibly be edible. The mystery meat was definitely out, and probably too cold by now anyway. "The only thing worse than high school cafeteria food is hospital cafeteria food."

"Buffy…"

She picked up a small bowl of peaches to appease him. "I'll eat the fruit," she said.

"Good. That's a start," Angel said, who seemed to be pleased that she was at least getting a few calories from _something._

"So did you find out anything from our pal Willy the Snitch? Cordelia said you went to go see him."

"Not much. You know how Willy likes to be vague and non-specific."

"No, _you_ like to be vague and non-specific. Don't go all 'cryptic guy' on me now. What did you find out?"

Angel supposed there was no reason why he should keep this information from Buffy. She was bound to find out eventually. Although the last thing he wanted to do was to give her something else to worry about, especially when she was only just recovering from her latest attack. "Willy mentioned some demons that have been hanging around his bar. A rough crowd it sounds like."

"Okay, well that's not new. Willy's patrons are always such a…pleasant crowd," she said sarcastically.

"Well according to Willy, business has never been better. And a group of them last night were bragging about a plan to open the Hellmouth in a month's time, or maybe two."

"Great. Always something involving that damn Hellmouth," Buffy complained. "So how do we stop them this time?"

When Angel didn't immediately respond, Buffy repeated her question. "Angel, how do we stop them?"

"I'm not sure how we stop them," he admitted somberly. "But we're going to find out."


	11. All In Good Time

"Hey Buff—" Xander quickly realized he was talking to an empty room. "She's not here."

Willow followed Xander into the room and checked out the small adjoining bathroom. "Not here either."

"I know she hates hospitals but…you don't think she made a run for it, do you?"

Willow smiled. "I'm sure she's here somewhere. Excuse me, nurse?" Willow called out to a passing nurse in the hallway. "Do you know where they took our friend?"

"I think they took her down to MRI for some scans. She shouldn't be too long."

"Okay, thanks." Willow looked at Xander and sat down in one of the chairs. "I guess we can wait."

"So how bad was it this morning?" Xander asked, sitting in the chair opposite from Willow.

"With Riley?"

"Yeah."

"On a scale 1-10 with ten being the worse, I'd say an eleven."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here, Will. With all of the work I've been missing—"

"No, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have left the room. It was strange to see Buffy act that way, like Riley was a complete stranger to her."

"She's been through a lot. Maybe she just needs some time to adjust and—"

"Hey, you guys," Buffy said as the nurse wheeled her back into her room. "I was wondering when you two would show up."

"Hey, Buffy," Willow said. "We heard you've been sleeping a lot today. We thought we'd let you get some rest."

"Can you get back into bed, honey?" the nurse asked Buffy.

"Yeah, I think I can manage."

"I'll help," Xander offered, standing up and assisting Buffy back into bed.

"Thanks."

"Now if you need anything, you just press that little red button on the bed remote, alright?"

Buffy nodded at the nurse. "Okay."

The nurse smiled at her once more, then left the room.

"Well that's first class service right there," Xander said with a smile.

"Really? Because I'd give it all up to just be home again," Buffy said, sighing as she sank down into her pillows. "I haven't even been out of my coma for a full 24 hours and already I'm tired of being poked and prodded. The hospital thinks I'm so kind of 'miracle patient.' I just want to get the hell out of here. What I wouldn't give to be in my _own room_ and in my _own bed_."

Xander briefly looked at Willow, who shook her head no. Now wasn't the time to tell Buffy about her current living arrangements.

"So, Buffy, how are you doing?" Xander asked her. "Aside from the obvious annoyance of the hospital staff."

Buffy looked from Xander to Willow. "Honestly? I feel like everyone around me is so happy. And I understand why. I'm awake. I almost _died._ And I feel like I should be happy too, but I can't. All I can feel is this overwhelming sadness. My mother is gone. And Angel and I…"

Willow reached for the tissue box and handed her one.

"Thanks," she said, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She really didn't want to cry again. "Things just aren't the same anymore. Everything's changed."

"How did things go with Angel?" Willow asked.

"We talked. I feel like I should be mad at him for breaking up with me, but I love him too much to feel any anger towards him. Mostly I just feel sad. But I can't be mad at him. He saved my life."

"Buffy, I'm sorry I wasn't here this morning," Willow said. "When you woke up and saw Riley here? I should have been here, and I'm sorry."

Buffy turned to Willow. "No, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I should have known the minute I walked out, you'd wake up and see Riley and you wouldn't know who he was. He didn't want to leave you though. He was so upset he wasn't here the first time you woke up."

Buffy thought back to her strange awakening this morning. "He looked really hurt when I told him to go away. That was wrong of me, wasn't it?"

"Oh, Buffy, no, it's not your fault. You can't help that you can't remember him. Riley should have taken the time to introduce himself. And he shouldn't have kissed you like that."

"So we're really together, huh?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah."

"For how long?"

"Since…December?" Willow looked at Xander. "Was it December?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. It was around December. I remember because you two horned in on our Charlie Brown Christmas tradition."

"But you've known Riley for a lot longer than that," Willow said.

"Has he been here a lot? Here at the hospital when I was in the coma?"

"It was kind of hard to get him to leave," Willow said.

"Why wasn't he here last night when I woke up?"

"Well, we all took turns sitting with you, Buff," Xander explained.

"And Riley went home early last night. He and Angel sort of…well, they got into a little argument."

"An argument?"

"Actually, a pretty big argument."

"Oh, so _that's_ how Riley got that bruise," Xander said, thinking aloud.

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "They got into a fight? Why?"

Willow shrugged. "I think they were jealous of each other, fighting over who got to sit with you. They don't get along very well actually."

"Wow, Angel not getting along with someone. That's a shocker," Xander said.

Willow gave Xander a warning stare. "Ignore him. Anyway, Riley hopes you feel better soon."

"I can't believe how things have changed. I don't even know my own boyfriend. I should remember my own boyfriend, right?"

"You'll get your memory back, Buff," Xander said.

"I just…I just want things to be semi-normal again. I feel so lost and confused with this huge blank in my life. What if I never remember?"

Xander reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You'll remember, Buff. And we'll help any way we can."

* * *

The door was open, but Willow knocked on it anyway to get his attention.

Riley looked up from the papers on his desk and seemed a little surprised to see Willow standing there. "Willow, hey. How's Buffy?"

"She's fine. As fine as she can be anyway. You weren't at your apartment so I thought I'd try you here."

"Work keeps me busy, and if I'm busy, I don't think about it," he explained as he straightened up some papers and placed them in a neat pile at the edge of the desk.

Willow didn't need Riley to explain what 'it' was. It was the fact that Buffy did not remember him at all.

"I just came back from the hospital," Willow said as she pulled up a chair and sat down. "I think if you'd like to go see her, she'd be okay with that now."

"She didn't want to see me this morning," Riley said softly.

"Well, why do you think? She has amnesia and she woke up to you _kissing_ her." Willow said this in a teasing manner, and Riley looked up, giving her a small smile.

"I don't know what I was thinking."

"You just love her, that's all."

"Do you really think she'd want to see me?"

Willow nodded. "I talked to Buffy. She's really anxious to get her memory back. And she felt bad about this morning. Maybe if you spend some time with her, she'll remember something."

Riley smiled, feeling a small bit of hope. Maybe there was still a chance. But it wouldn't change her feelings about the vampire, he thought, feeling that hope deflate a little. "What about Angel?"

"Look, I know you and Angel don't exactly get along, but I'd suggest you keep your hostility towards him at bay. For Buffy's sake. Even though they're not together, he's still real important to her. So can you at least, you know, try to remain civil?"

"I suppose I could try," he said, with "try" being the operative word. When it came to keeping his temper in check around Angel, it was easier said than done.

* * *

"Honey, are you sure that's all you want to eat?"

Buffy looked at the food on the dinner plate set before her, which she had taken a few measly bites. "I'm sorry. I just don't have much of an appetite right now."

The nurse sighed as she took the dinner tray away. "All right. But if you get hungry in the middle of the night, you buzz me. You hear?"

Buffy smiled. She liked this nurse. "Okay."

Giles watched the nurse leave from his chair in the corner of the room. "Buffy, perhaps there's something else I could pick up for you? You really need to eat to get back your strength."

"You're starting to sound like Angel. I'm fine. I'm just not hungry for the last time. What I really need is to get out of here, Giles. I need to get out of here and get back to whatever my normal routines are. And I need to get back to slaying."

"Buffy, I'd like for you to get out of this hospital just as much as you do, but you need time to heal and recuperate. For now, I think it'd be best if you try to take it easy. It'll be a while before you can get back to your training."

"Good evening, Miss Summers," Dr. Drake announced as he walked into the room.

Buffy turned to the doctor and gave him a smile. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel okay."

"Any more headaches? Nausea?"

"Maybe a little."

"She hasn't been eating," Giles announced.

Buffy threw him an angry glare.

The doctor took a pen out of his pocket and made some quick notes on her chart. "I'll have the nurse bring you some crackers and ginger ale. It might be a while before you get your appetite back. But you should try to eat if you feel up to it. Food will help with the nausea and maybe the headaches as well."

"Right, I know," Buffy said, and she was tired of hearing it.

"Well I do some good news for you," the doctor announced, changing the tone of the conversation.

"I can go home now?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Buffy…" Giles said, warning her.

The doctor gave her an apologetic look. "No, not quite. But the news is good. I took a look at your scans from earlier this afternoon. All those tests we put you through were not for naught, I promise. And so far, everything looks great. I didn't see any signs of swelling or bleeding, which is really good. I can't promise your memory will return, but I can say that all signs point to you making a full recovery."

"That's great. So why I can't I go home again?"

The doctor smiled. "You mean you don't want to stay longer? I don't understand why all of my patients are all so anxious to leave."

Buffy smiled back at him. At least this doctor liked to joke around.

"Listen, I understand you want to go home. But if I send you home too early, you're just going to end up coming right back here, and that's not what you want. Your scans are good, yes, but you're still recovering. Let's not forget that you just had major brain surgery. That's a big deal, Miss Summers. And I don't let my patients go home one second before they're ready. I'm going to keep you for several more days until I'm sure you'll be okay. Alright?"

"Okay. But just so you know, I heal really fast, so you have to let me go home as soon as I'm recovered."

"It's a deal. Now let me take a look a quick look at my handiwork." The doctor moved to the side of the bed and began to examine her surgical wound. "Has the nurse changed this dressing today?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Okay, good. I bet you're glad I didn't take too much of your hair, huh?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah. That was really nice of you actually."

"I know how you women are about your hair. I have three sisters. Now my male patients, rarely do they have a problem with it, but if I shave more hair than necessary on a teenage girl, I'll hear about it. They don't like me very much when I do that, so I try to avoid that from now on."

"So…does everything look okay?" Buffy asked.

"Wow, that's amazing. You _do_ heal fast. A few more days and you won't even know you had surgery." The doctor put the dressing back over the wound and made a few notes on his chart.

Buffy turned to Giles and smiled. "He says I heal fast, Giles."

"So what are you training for?" the doctor asked casually as he put his pen back into his coat pocket.

"What?"

"I heard some of your conversation as I was walking into the room. You were talking about training for something. Do you play sports, Buffy?"

"Oh, that. Uh…yeah. Figure skating," she blurted out. Buffy looked over the doctor's shoulder and smiled at Giles, who gave her a confused look.

The doctor seemed impressed. "Figure skating? Really?"

"Uh huh. Giles is my coach."

Behind the doctor, Giles threw Buffy a look. "_Coach?" _he mouthed. Giles quickly put on a smile as the doctor briefly glanced at him.

"We were just talking about my training schedule and when I can start back," Buffy explained.

"Are you any good?"

"Well…I'm no Dorothy Hamill or Michelle Kwan, but I think I hold my own on the ice."

Giles cleared his throat. "Doctor, do you think Buffy will be able to return to her uh….skating soon?"

"Regionals are coming up in a few months. He's sort of anxious for me to get back into the game." Buffy smiled at Giles again, knowing he was getting annoyed with this little charade.

"I'll be honest with you. It may be a while before you can get back into the swing of things. Especially with something like figure skating. You'll just have to be patient. Pushing yourself will only hamper your recovery. Just take it easy. Listen to your body. Don't do anything until you feel like you're at 100 percent. All right?"

Buffy nodded. "Got it."

"Well I have more rounds to make. Let the nurse know if those headaches continue, okay?"

"I will."

The doctor smiled as he made his exit.

"Figure skating?" Giles asked when the doctor finally left the room.

"Well I didn't think vampire slayer would sit well with him."

"No, I suppose not."

"Besides, it wasn't all a lie. I am a pretty good skater. And you are sort of like my coach. Right?"

Giles gave her a smile. "Yes, I suppose I am."

* * *

Spike had been on his way back to his crypt when a noise caught his attention. He turned around, then felt the blow of a fist against his face.

"Son of a—" Spike yelled, throwing a punch of his own into the face of his attacker.

They fought for a few moments, pummeling each other. Spike recognized the bloke. He was a regular at Willy's, and apparently wanted to kill him at the moment.

"I know who you are," the vampire hissed at him. "You're that one that's been fighting for the slayer!"

Spike was used to this. He had, in a sense, gone to the other side, and word around Sunnydale traveled fast. Every demon and vampire alike in town had it out for him, all itching to get a chance at taking him down.

And Spike liked that.

He enjoyed the thrill, the feeling of knowing he was being hunted again, and the sweet smell of victory whenever he took another one down. It wasn't as thrilling as say, killing a human, or a slayer for that matter, but it would do. It was the only thing he had going for him lately. If he couldn't fight or kill humans, he had to get his jollies somewhere.

Spike threw another punch, connecting his fist to the vampire's jaw.

The vampire, obviously drunk, just laughed. "A vampire fighting for the slayer! What kind of a vampire are you?"

"The kind that kills," Spike retorted, fishing for the stake in his coat pocket. He threw the vampire against the crypt wall, drove the stake into his chest, and watched as the poor fool turned to dust.

The stake had broken upon impact with the wall, and Spike tossed it to the ground. It was at this moment he heard someone clapping. Spike whipped around, seeing Angel standing by a tree.

"Well, well, what do we have here? You know, I heard about it, but I had to see it to believe it."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Go home, Peaches. Go back to L.A. and help the helpless or whatever the bloody hell it is that you do."

Angel roared with laughter. "You want me to go? Why, Spike? Afraid I might be up for a little revenge?" Angel moved closer to Spike. "Don't think for a second I've forgotten how you chained me up and had me tortured over that damn Gem of Amarra. I ought to chain you up and drive hot pokers through you just for the fun of it."

"I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"No, you should have left town when you had the chance. You _had_ the ring, Spike. You could have gone anywhere in the world with that ring and have power beyond belief. But you couldn't resist going after Buffy one last time, could you? Too bad you underestimated her. Now you have no ring, and frankly, no chance of killing her at all now with that chip of yours.

"I've got to say, Riley Finn isn't exactly my favorite person in the world, but I'll have to remember to thank him some time. A chip in your brain that prevents you from hurting humans? Got to hand it to those Initiative boys. They were really thinking outside of the box. Perhaps that's torture enough for you."

Angel laughed at the irony of it all. Big bad Spike…defanged. It was, quite honestly, the perfect torture for him. Maybe almost as perfect torture as giving Angelus a soul.

"Sod off," Spike muttered, turning around, ready to walk away.

"What are you up to, Spike?"

Spike paused, turning around to face him. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"What kind of game is this, huh? Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer? Yeah, I know what you're really up to. You think if you hang around them, earn their trust, they'll start believing you're on their side. Then when they least expect it, you'll find a way to get that chip out of your head and turn on them."

Spike shrugged. "Not a bad idea. Now that you mention—"

Angel's fist interrupted Spike's comeback. Within moments, the two were all out fighting.

Spike, having become quite the skilled fighter as of late, quickly gained the upper hand, throwing Angel flat on his back.

Angel wiped the smear of blood from his lip, glaring at Spike.

"Oh look at the big poof now," Spike taunted. "Not so big and bad at the moment, are you?"

Angel wasn't on the ground for long. He hit Spike hard in the nose, gaining the upper hand again as the fight dragged on.

Finally, when Angel thought he had tortured him enough, he pushed Spike against the crypt wall, hard. "You haven't changed a bit," he said through gritted teeth. "And I don't trust you any further than I could throw you. Actually, scratch that. Any further than Cordelia could throw you. And if you so much as touch a hair on Buffy's head, or hurt anyone she even remotely cares about, I'll come after you personally and kill you myself."

Angel shoved Spike against the crypt wall one last time, hoping his warning was enough to scare the vampire into leaving for good. He knew how Spike operated. He may be playing the role of a do-gooder now, but it was only a matter a time before his true colors would shine. With that, Angel turned around, walking away from the scene.

Spike paused for a moment, wiping the blood from his nose, then went inside his crypt and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

_Los Angeles_

Lindsey McDonald stared out his office window, watching as night fell upon the city below. He raised his arm, taking another look at the prosthetic hand he'd had for several weeks now. He'd like to say that he was getting use to it, that never playing the guitar anymore didn't matter, or that writing with his left hand wasn't hard, but he couldn't. How did one adjust to losing a hand?

The vampire had done this to him. He and his group of do-gooders.

Angel had proven to be a thorn in his side since day one. Lindsey had worked hard to be where he was, and though he would admit his fellow lawyers weren't always as ethical as they led everyone to believe, he agreed with them on one subject: Angel was a threat. And though he had doubts before, a "crisis of faith" as Holland called it, things were much clearer now. Wolfram & Hart had made him the lawyer that he was today. His efforts had gotten him a cushy office, a promotion, and a six-figure salary. He wasn't about to turn his back on them again.

A knock on the door pulled Lindsey out of his reverie, and he turned to see Lilah opening his door.

"We've got a problem," she announced as she walked into his office, closing the door behind her.

"I don't want to hear about any problems." He had enough to deal with on his own.

"Okay then, I'll just take this upstairs to Holland and see what he thinks about it." Lilah waved around a file she was holding and headed to the door.

"Wait, Lilah. There's no need to involve Holland if it's a something we can fix ourselves. What's the problem?"

Lilah turned around and walked back to Lindsey's desk. "You remember our friend Angel, don't you? The vampire with a soul?"

Lindsey held up his prosthetic hand. "He chopped off my hand. I think I vaguely remember him, yes."

"Have you been keeping tabs on him?"

"Haven't heard so much as a peep out of him in the past few weeks, which hopefully indicates he's left town. And if so, I say good riddance. I can only hope our fireworks display at his office was a clear enough message to him. I don't give a damn what he does now."

"Well you should."

Lindsey sighed. "Why's that?"

Lilah threw the file down on Lindsey's desk. "He's interfering with the Sunnydale Project."

"_What?"_ Lilah had his full attention now, and he opened the folder and perused the contents. "How did he get wind of this?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone was sloppy with a few files."

Lindsey looked up from the folder and glared at her. "Even I don't have access to all of those files, Lilah."

"Look, I don't know how he found out. Probably his damn connection to the Powers."

"When were these pictures taken?"

"A couple of nights ago. I just found out about them myself. He's skulking around town looking for answers. How long do you think it will take him to figure out what we have planned? If he hasn't already, that is."

"What's this building?" Lindsey held up one of the pictures.

"Oh, our contact followed him there. It's the hospital. The news gets worse I'm afraid."

"Worse than Angel threatening the firm's biggest project?"

"I'm talking about the slayer."

Lindsey shrugged. "She won't be a problem."

"She _will_ be a problem. Look at the next picture."

Lindsey examined the next photograph, seeing Angel visiting a young woman in the hospital, who he assumed must be the slayer in question.

"Are you telling me that he knows her?"

"Oh he doesn't just know her. He used to _date_ her. You did know that, right? That he used to date a slayer?" Lilah gave him a smug smile, glad that her hours of research paid off.

"What, you mean it's _her?"_

"Yes, its her. I know, small world, huh? This is a major problem."

Lindsey stared at the photograph for a few moments, pondering the situation. "Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Lilah laughed. "Coincidence that he's in Sunnydale? Doubtful. He knows something. And he's got the damn slayer on his side, which doesn't bode well for us."

"Maybe he just heard an old flame was in the hospital and went to visit her."

Lilah shrugged. "Possibly. We can hope, although that's being a bit too optimistic. Even if he doesn't know of Wolfram & Hart's association, he'll figure it out soon enough."

Lindsey closed the folder and handed it back to Lilah. "You're right. Apparently he's going to continue to be a problem for us."

"So what are we are going to do about it?"

"We'll do what we always do, Lilah," Lindsey said with confidence. "We'll take care of the problem."

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for reading, everyone! :) Love the reviews, as always!


	12. Getting Reacquainted

**A/N:** This chapter turned out longer than I expected, but no complaints about that, right? Enjoy! :)

* * *

Buffy turned to her side and opened her eyes. When her eyes adjusted to the semi-dark room, she smiled. Angel was in the reclining chair in the corner of the room, and he was sleeping.

It wasn't often that Buffy saw Angel sleep, but when she did, she was always amazed by the sight. He looked so…relaxed. The worry lines on his face had vanished, and his familiar brooding appearance was for once, finally at peace.

Buffy hadn't expected to wake up to find Angel in her room. She had assumed he would go back to the mansion. But he hadn't. He was here.

That had to mean something, right? If Angel was so insistent on staying away from her, he certainly had a funny way of showing it. Buffy smiled at the irony of the situation.

She must have made some noise, because Angel soon stirred awake and stared right at her. A smile came across his face as he sat up, blinking his eyes a few times. "Hi."

"Hi," Buffy said softly, just above a whisper. "Did you stay here all night?"

Angel rose from the reclining chair and moved to the chair closer to her bed. "Yeah. I came after Giles left. You were sleeping."

"I've been doing a lot of that lately."

Angel picked up the pitcher of water on the table and a small plastic cup, filling it halfway. "Here, drink some water."

Buffy moved to a sitting position and took the water. "Thanks."

"Do you need anything else?"

Buffy placed the water down and glanced at him nervously. "I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, but I feel so weak. It's so weird to feel this way. I hardly ever feel like this."

"You've been in bed for a long time. It might take a while for you to get back your strength. Here, sit up. Let me help you."

Buffy slowly moved her legs over the bed.

"Lean on me, alright?"

Buffy wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she stood to her feet, then made a few steps forward. Her gait was obviously a little impaired.

Angel held on to her tighter, keeping her steady. "You okay?"

"Just feel a little lightheaded."

"Take it easy."

They slowly made their way the few paces to the adjoining bathroom. Angel led her inside, then suddenly was at a loss as to how to help her.

"I can manage from here," Buffy said quickly, sensing the awkwardness of the situation. "Just stay close?"

Angel nodded. "I'll be right outside the door. Call if you need me." Angel stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him, leaving it the slightest bit cracked.

He waited for her to finish, and when she called for him, he stepped back inside.

Buffy gripped the edge of sink for support and stared at her reflection. "I look like hell."

Angel moved behind her, feeling the slightest bit of disappointment that he couldn't see his own reflection with hers. "No you don't. You're beautiful. You've just been through a lot. Come on, let's get you back to bed."

Buffy turned around, taking hold of Angel again, and slowly made the journey back to her bed.

Sometime in the two minutes she had been in the bathroom, someone had brought breakfast. As soon as she climbed back under the covers, Angel pushed the bed tray towards her.

"This should help you feel better." He lifted the lid from the plate of food and set it aside.

Buffy scowled at the eggs set before her and pushed the breakfast tray away. "Ugh. No thanks."

Angel frowned. "Buffy, you have to eat _something_."

Buffy sighed. "Fine." She pulled the tray back to where it was and picked up the toast. "But this is all I feel like eating."

"That's fine. Drink the orange juice too," he ordered. He picked up the small carton and opened it for her.

"I'm not five. I can do that myself."

Angel smiled. "Drink it, please?" he asked in a softer tone.

Buffy took the orange juice and drank it without argument.

After a few more bites of the toast, she set the crust on her plate and pushed the tray away again. "I don't want anymore."

Angel started to protest, but a knock on the door interrupted him.

Buffy looked up and felt her stomach twist in a knot.

Riley stood in the doorway; his hands full of a vase with colorful flowers. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" His voice sounded nervous as he looked towards Angel, then quickly averted his eyes back to Buffy.

When Buffy didn't answer right away, Riley started to leave. "I'll just come back."

"Wait," Buffy called out, feeling guilty again for the way she had treated him the day before. She looked to Angel, whose eyes were on hers, waiting to see what she would do. "Angel, I want to talk to him."

Angel rose, albeit reluctantly, understanding that Buffy was asking him to leave. "I'll come by and see you later. Okay?"

Buffy nodded and watched as he headed towards the door. He and Riley stared at each other for a moment before Angel walked out, then Riley hesitantly stepped in.

He set the vase of flowers on the nightstand.

"Pretty flowers. They smell nice."

"I know how much you hate hospitals. Thought they'd liven up your room a bit."

Buffy watched as Riley sat down beside her. _He knew she hated hospitals._ She wondered what else he knew about her. She didn't know a thing about him, except for his name and the fact that he was, supposedly, her boyfriend.

"Riley, I'm actually glad you're here. I wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. It's just that my brain is still stuck in high school, and I didn't know who you were…"

"Buffy, you don't have to apologize. Look, if anyone here should be doing some apologizing, it's me. I'm really sorry that I kissed you. I shouldn't have done that. I knew you wouldn't know who I was. I guess I thought if I kissed you, maybe you would remember. You don't remember anything, do you?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. Boy I wish I did though. I feel like I've time-traveled."

"Time-traveled?"

"Yeah. I was in high school and I went to sleep and woke up in Bizzarro Sunnydale, one year in the future. Everything I know has changed. Everything and everyone is different. I don't even know who my own boyfriend is."

"Well in that case, I should reintroduce myself. What do you say? Can we start over?"

Buffy smiled and nodded.

"Hi, I'm Riley Finn." Riley offered his hand for her to shake, and Buffy laughed at the gesture.

"It's nice to meet you." Buffy shook his hand and considered this Riley Finn. He was cute. Maybe cute wasn't the right word, but he certainly wasn't bad on the eyes. Not a bad quality in a boyfriend. And he seemed nice enough. _But he wasn't Angel. _Buffy had to stop thinking about Angel. She had to remember they weren't together anymore.

"So, what do you want to know? I'll tell you anything."

Buffy thought for a moment. "Well, for starters, maybe you could tell me how we first met?"

Riley gave her a smile. "Well, as I seem to recall, you woke up, and I planted one on you."

Buffy laughed. "I mean the first time that I can't remember."

"Oh, right. That first meeting. Well, that's a little less romantic. It was at the bookstore on campus. You dropped a psychology book on my head."

"I did _what_?"

"It was on the top shelf and you were reaching for it. I was kneeling on the floor, unsuspecting. There was contact made."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

Riley smiled at her again. "That's okay. You already apologized. But don't worry. My head was much thicker than the book." Riley tapped his head. "No permanent damage done. Oh…god, I'm sorry. Really poor choice of words."

"No, it's okay. It's kind of funny actually."

"Yeah, it is a little. Maybe not at the time, of course. It's sort of hard to laugh when you have a concussion."

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "I gave you a concussion? Was it _that _bad?"

Riley smiled. "No, relax. I was only teasing you."

"Oh. So let me get this straight. I did bodily injury to you and after that, you decided I was perfect girlfriend material?"

"Well, not exactly. I was the TA for your psychology class. We saw each other a lot, but it took me a while to really notice you. Then there was this one day. I was watching you from across the cafeteria, and it was like a light went on in my head. You were tearing up a drink machine or something, making a complete mess of everything, and I suddenly realized I liked you."

"I'm seeing a pattern here. You like clumsy girls," Buffy teased.

"I wanted to ask you out, but I was nervous. I didn't really know how to approach you, or what to even talk to you about. So I talked to Willow. I tried to get her to tell me what your interests were so that maybe I could have a conversation with you."

"Did it work?"

Riley frowned. "Not really. I babbled on about psychology and….cheese."

"Cheese?"

"Willow said you liked it."

Buffy laughed. How odd. He was actually making her laugh when she felt so miserable. "So if it wasn't the interesting conversations about cheese…what was it? How did we get together?"

"We found out we had a lot more in common than we thought."

"Meaning?"

"I know you're the slayer."

"Oh good. I was sort of wondering how that issue was going to play out. Wait, what did you mean by that? What do we have in common?"

"I hunt vampires too. I'm part of the Initiative. It's a covert government operation. I don't have your slayer strength, but I do have a lot of really cool weapons. But that's a story for another day. Can I get you something? I must be talking your ear off…"

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me something. Are we…serious? I mean, do we, have we…?"

Riley nodded. "Yes, we're serious."

Buffy took a moment to let that information sink in. It was hard to imagine sleeping with another man. She loved Angel. Her first and only time had been with Angel. No, not only time, she reminded herself. She had been with Riley too.

A knock on the door pulled Buffy away from her thoughts. The sight of a familiar and yet, unexpected face surprised her.

"Up for some more company?"

"Daddy!"

"Hi, sweetheart," Hank Summers rushed into the room, flowers in one hand, and kissed Buffy on the cheek.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?"

Hank smiled at Riley. "She wants to know what I'm doing here." He then turned to Buffy. "I'm here because you're in the hospital. They said it was serious. I was worried about you."

"Mr. Summers," Riley said, rising from his chair and holding his hand out to shake. "Good to see you again."

"Hello, Riley. Have you been taking care of my daughter?"

"Yes, sir."

Buffy watched the exchange between her father and her supposed boyfriend, and wondered when they had met anyway. She never introduced her boyfriends to her father if she could help it. Her father never approved of her boyfriends. And besides, her father was hardly ever around.

"I think I'll go down to the cafeteria for a while," Riley announced, looking towards Buffy. "Let you and your dad visit."

Buffy nodded. "Thanks."

"I'll be back later," he said, and excused himself.

Once alone, Hank sat down at his daughter's bedside. "I was so worried about you, Buffy. And I'm so sorry I couldn't have been here sooner. I was in Spain, but I came as soon as—"

"It's okay, Daddy. I'm fine."

"Sweetheart, they said you were in a coma."

"Daddy, I'm fine. Really. Just a little bump on the head. No big. And a missing spleen apparently. But who needs a spleen anyway, right?"

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

She had been told her injuries were the work of four brutal looking vampires that made "The Three" look like a walk in the park, but she wasn't about to tell her father _that_. "I—I don't remember what happened," she said, and that at least was the truth. Buffy couldn't remember. That or anything else from the last year of her life…

"I don't like this," Hank said, shaking his head. "I don't like this at all. We're going to find out who did this to you, and we're going to punish them to the full extent of the law."

"I don't think they'll find who did it, Daddy. The police think it was…random." And that was also the truth. They wouldn't find her attackers, because they were dust. Well, three of them were anyway. And the police truly did believe it was a random attack, theorizing it could have been some ritual initiation test of one of the local gangs.

"Why don't you come back to Spain with me?"

"What?"

"I was just thinking that it's summer, and you have some time before your classes start again. Why don't you come stay with me for a while? I've got this great penthouse with beautiful views of the sunrise in the morning. We'll have a great time together. It'll be like that summer you came to stay with me in L.A." He sensed Buffy hesitating. "I'll take you shopping," he added as a further incentive.

"Daddy, I'd love to come visit you sometime, but I really want to be here at home this summer." Not to mention the fact that she _needed_ to be here as well.

"I understand. You want to be here with your friends, and with Riley."

Buffy tried not to flinch. Why was everyone so insistent that she and Riley were inseparable?

"Sweetheart, promise me you'll be more careful from now on. There's a lot of crazy and dangerous people out there, especially at night."

_If he only knew…_

"I just don't want you putting yourself in a situation where you could get hurt again. I know you like to go to those dancing clubs late at night, but please, for my sake, don't go alone again. And when it's late, let Riley walk you home, or that other guy friend of yours. What's his name?"

"Xander?"

"No, the other one. The one with the strange name."

"Angel?"

"Yeah, that Angel guy. He looks like he could beat someone up."

Buffy smiled, surprised he knew who Angel was. And it was nice seeing her father actually concerned for her well-being for once.

"Promise me, sweetie?" Hank asked, and Buffy realized he was still waiting for her to answer.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I'll be careful." As careful as she could be when she was the Slayer, Buffy thought. But her father, of course, had no clue about her double life. At least her mother had known and she could talk to her about it. Buffy missed that. She hated that she couldn't tell her dad, but he wouldn't understand. He'd probably think she had hit her head a bit too hard and send her to the mental institution again.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back to Spain with me?"

Buffy smiled. "Maybe some other time."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Hank said, smiling at his daughter.

* * *

True to his word, Riley returned sometime after her father had left.

"Hey." Buffy gave him a smile, although she couldn't help but feel slightly awkward. She had to remind herself that Riley was her boyfriend. She should be glad to see him, right?

Riley took a seat beside her. "Did you have a good visit with your dad?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, it was good. Kind of weird of him showing up like that though. He hardly ever visits. I mean the last time I saw him was…well, I can't remember," Buffy said, laughing it off.

"You'll remember. He hasn't already left, has he?"

"No. He went back to the hotel for a while. He said he'd come back later this afternoon. He'll probably stay for a couple of days, do the fatherly thing for the weekend, then go back to work just in time for Monday."

"You're dad is a bit of a workaholic, I'll give you that."

"So when exactly did you meet my father?"

"Before your mother's funeral," he said softly.

"Oh. Right. I guess that makes sense."

"I promised him I'd take care of you. I guess I failed where that was concerned."

Buffy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. I just…I just wish there was more I could have done that night. I'm so sorry this happened to you, Buffy. I wish I had been there in time…"

Buffy's smiled returned, and she reached for his hand. "I'm sure you did everything you could. Willow told me you stayed here at the hospital a lot while I was out of it."

"Yeah. I was waiting for you to wake up."

"It's nice to know that I have so many friends looking out for me."

_Friends. _She thought of him as a _friend. _

"Did I say something wrong?"

Riley looked at her, surprised. Was she reading his mind? "What?"

"You just…I don't know. You had a weird look on your face."

"It's nothing. I'm just glad to see you out of a coma, that's all. Look…I should actually be going now. I've got some work to catch up on. I've missed a lot."

"Your…TA work?"

"Yeah, and Professor Walsh is going to fire my ass if I miss another class."

"They have classes in summer?"

"Summer session," he explained. "Professor Walsh is teaching an introduction to psychology course. Mostly for the students that either failed her class the first time or the ones that couldn't get in before because it was full."

"Sounds…fun? I can't remember. Did I like psychology?"

Riley gave her a smile. "You did all right. Professor Walsh was impressed with you."

Buffy smiled. She had always wondered what college would be like. She wished she could remember, but it seemed like it hadn't been too bad.

Riley leaned forward to kiss her goodbye, but stopped before he made the same mistake as before. "I'm sorry. Force of habit."

Riley backed away slowly, and Buffy understood he was disappointed she didn't want to kiss him right now.

"I'll come and see you in the morning. Would that be all right?"

Buffy nodded. "That'll be fine."

Riley smiled. "Okay. Well I'll see you then."

"Riley?"

Riley stopped at the door and turned around. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"It's okay. You will," he said. "See you later."

"Bye."

Riley walked out of the room, and he hoped he was right. Buffy had to remember.

* * *

"So, how are your classes at college going?" Hank asked, pulling up a chair next to Buffy's bed.

"Daddy, I uh—"

"Oh, that's right. I'm sorry, sweetie. I forgot that you can't remember."

"I could tell you how my high school classes went. I remember high school. Well, at least most of it anyway."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I wish there was something I could do to help you. Your mother…she was always better at this than I am. She always knew what to do."

"I miss Mom."

"And you got stuck with dear old Dad instead, huh?"

"No, Daddy, I'm glad you're here. I just…I miss Mom. I can't even remember the last time I saw her, the last time I _really_ saw her. I think the last conversation I remember us having was about college applications or something."

"She was really proud of you, Buffy. And so am I."

A cell phone suddenly went off, and Hank reached into his pocket to grab it.

"Work?" Buffy asked.

"I'm sorry. Let me take this real quick." He opened his flip phone and answered it. "Hank Summers…Yes…No, it's not a problem…Yes, they were faxed before I left so they should have them…Well, I'm sorry, there's not much I can do about that at the moment…I'm in California visiting my daughter right now…You'll just have to find someone else to fill in for Jackson…"

Buffy sank down in her pillows, sighing. It was always inevitable that whenever her father actually talked to her, business would always get in the way.

"Okay, look, don't worry about. Let me see what I can do. I'll call you back."

Hank ended his conversation and frowned. "I'm sorry. That was an associate of mine. There's some crisis that's come up at work. A bunch of workaholics worried about a Monday meeting."

His associate wasn't the only workaholic, Buffy thought to herself. "You have to go?"

"I've got to take care of a few things, but I'll come see you tomorrow and we'll catch up some more. You get some rest, you hear?"

Buffy nodded. "I will."

Hank gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "See you later, sweetie."

"Bye, Daddy." Buffy watched her father as he left the room, and silently wondered if he'd keep his promise this time and come see her again.

* * *

"We _blew up_ the school?" Buffy asked, shocked from what Willow and Xander told her about the ascension.

"Yep," Xander answered.

"We _blew up_ the school?" Buffy asked again, not believing it. "And the mayor turned into a giant snake and ate Synder? Are you guys actually serious or are you joking with me because I can't remember?"

Willow smiled. "No joking."

"Giles?" Buffy looked over Xander's shoulder to Giles sitting across the room.

"Oh…um, yes. It all really happened."

"Wow. That's…crazy. Okay, so there's no school, no Snyder. The mayor's dead. Wait, what about Faith?"

Xander and Willow exchanged looks.

"Don't tell me she's still out there wreaking havoc."

"No, Buffy. She's not," Xander said.

"What happened to her?"

"She's um…well, she's in a coma."

"A coma. Like I was."

"Actually, no, not like you. Faith has been in a coma for just over a year now."

"A year?"

"Right before graduation," Willow added.

"How did it happen?"

"She sort of took a nose-dive off a roof," Willow said.

"She _what?_ Why?"

"Well, she was—" Willow started.

"You know what? Never mind," Buffy suddenly announced. "I don't want to talk about Faith anymore. Thinking about Faith makes me cranky. So, what about the school?"

"I think we established that we…blew it up? Right, Will?" Xander gave Buffy a smile.

"Thanks, I think I got that part. What I meant was what happened to it afterwards. Giles? What about you?"

Giles, having been quiet for most of the conversation, looked up from his book. "I'm sorry?"

"You're the librarian! Are you out of a job? What's happened to Sunnydale High now?"

"They relocated the high school across town to the old community college."

"Oh sure, _now_ the high school is away from the Hellmouth. I can never win."

"Actually, Giles isn't the librarian anymore," Willow said, looking over at Giles. "Hasn't been for a long time actually."

"You're not librarian anymore?"

"Afraid not," he answered.

"But…you have to be a librarian. I mean…you're so good with the books and all. You're even reading one right now."

"Oh, he's still 'Librarian Giles'," Willow said. "Well, sort of. He just has a different venue now."

"Giles is the new owner of the Magic Box."

Buffy looked at Xander in confusion. "The Magic Box?"

"You know, that magic shop on Maple Court?" Willow added.

"Oh. Right. Isn't that place constantly raided by vamps and has a new owner like every other month?"

"Actually Giles has been the new owner for about six months now," Willow said. "And the vamps have sort of backed off since you're there most of the time. It's pretty convenient for Scooby meetings too. Lots of books for research and access to all kinds of good stuff for magic spells."

Buffy smiled at her. If there was one thing she could remember, it was that Willow loved two things: research and magic. At least that had not changed. "Wow. So is anything else different around here?"

Xander and Willow looked at each other, wondering what else they could tell Buffy, for so much had changed in the past year.

"Well, uh, I have a brand new car," Giles said brightly. Lately, it was all Giles could talk about.

"It's a sexy little two-door convertible," Willow said with a smile. "In red," she added.

"Now if only he could learn how to drive it…" Xander said in a teasing manner.

"Well, I do occasionally put the thing in neutral," Giles admitted. "I don't understand why the damn thing has to be an automatic."

Giles went on to tell her more about his new convertible, but Buffy's mind drifted.

The image of a green light appeared in her mind, followed by the blurry image of a red truck and the sounds of horns blaring.

_"Buffy!" _

Buffy blinked a few times, confused by the sudden flashback.

"Buffy, are you alright?" Giles asked, concerned, for Buffy suddenly looked rather pale.

Buffy pulled herself together, trying to put the flashback or whatever it was out of her mind. "I'm fine. I'm just tired all of a sudden. I think I'm going to rest for a while if that's okay."

"Of course." Giles rose to his feet, and Willow and Xander followed suit. "We'll let you rest."

"See you later, Buff," Xander said.

"And we won't be far," Willow said. "If you need us, just holler, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

Buffy watched as Giles, Xander, and Willow left her room, closing the door behind them. Once alone, Buffy curled up in bed, wrapped the blanket around her tighter, and began to cry.

It was a memory flash. Buffy was certain of that. And though she should be happy to have her memory starting to return, she was also certain that whatever that flashback was about, she didn't want to remember it again.

* * *

Buffy wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she awoke with a start.

Something was…off.

At first, she thought maybe the feeling was from a dream she'd been having. But now that she was aware, she knew it wasn't a dream at all. Her senses were overloaded. Her spine tingled. She knew what this meant: _vampire._

It wasn't Angel. With Angel, it felt different. She felt love. She felt comfort. But this vampire's presence kicked her slayer instincts into high gear. This was _evil._

Buffy slipped her hand underneath her pillow and wrapped her fingers around Mr. Pointy. No one was going to take her off guard this time. Slowly, Buffy rolled over, turning her head to the doorway. Her eyes settled on the bleached-blonde hair of the familiar vampire.

_Spike?_

She knew it was a vampire, but she wasn't expecting it to be _him._

"So it's true. The Slayer's finally awake. Had to see for myself."

Before Spike could get another word in, Buffy jumped out of bed and pushed him down to the floor.

"What part of 'leaving town' don't you understand?" Buffy demanded, aiming the stake to his heart.

* * *

A/N: Well, there it is. Hope you liked the chapter. I was nervous about posting it because of all the Riley/Buffy scenes. I know a lot of you don't like Riley, and that's okay. But I wanted to stay true to his character and make him act how I think his character would act in this situation.

I do enjoy the Spike scene at the end! :) And Buffy hasn't a clue about the chip yet since she can't remember! HA!

Also, I thought it was time for Buffy's dad to make an appearance. And I have a mini-rant:

I never liked the fact that Hank didn't show up for Joyce's funeral on the show (Or if he did, I sure didn't see him!). That just didn't make sense. Hank appeared in a few Buffy episodes, but _not _that one?! This is my problem: Even if Hank and Joyce were divorced and he was sleeping with his secretary in Spain, he was married to Joyce for like 15 years. He loved her _at_ _some point._ Sure, Hank wasn't perfect, and yes, he did let Buffy down a few times, but I don't think he was so heartless that he would not have shown up for Joyce's funeral. He would have been there for Buffy's (and Dawn's) sake. So anyway, very poor decision to write him out of the episode in my opinion. That's why I made a point in mentioning Hank had been there, because I think he would have gone.

And even though he'll never win the "father of the year" award, I thought he should at least put in an appearance (in my story) at the hospital to see his daughter. After all, Buffy almost DIED! And technically, he's the only parent Buffy has now. But keeping true to his character, don't expect Hank to stay for too long. I'm sure he's got "business" with his secretary to attend to!

Okay…now I'm through with all of my author notes finally. :)


	13. Missing Pieces

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was INSANELY long! (Even longer than the last one!) I don't understand. It looked so much shorter in my outline lol. So anyway, I thought it would be best to split this chapter. But that's okay, because that means the next chapter will be posted sooner!

Okay…enjoy!

* * *

Buffy tightened the grip on her stake. "What the _hell _are you doing here?"

"What's your problem, Slayer?"

Buffy made a fist with her other hand, punching him in the jaw. "You think I'm easy prey because I'm in the hospital?"

"What are you talkin—"

Buffy hit him again. _"_Why are you here?"

"I came to see you. What the bloody hell is _wrong_ with you?!"

"You came _to see me_? So we could what? Reminisce about old times? Somehow I doubt that."

"I have information."

"Yeah, and I have a really pointy stake."

* * *

In the waiting area, Willow and Xander sat across from each other. Xander watched television while Willow perused the hospital's magazine selection. They could have gone home, but they'd wanted to stay near Buffy, just in case she needed anything.

There was also the possibility that someone could still be out there trying to kill her. Someone had to keep an eye on things.

Xander muted the television and turned to Willow. Something felt off, and he wasn't sure why until now. "Was that Spike that just walked past us?"

Willow looked up from the article she was reading. "Spike's here?"

"Buffy doesn't know about Spike yet, does she?"

The thought occurred to both of them at the same time, and Willow and Xander jumped up from their seats and rushed down the hallway.

When they reached Buffy's room, they found exactly what they expected: Buffy pummeling Spike mercilessly.

"Buffy, no!" Willow yelled.

"Bloody hell! She's trying to kill me!"

"No, Buffy, he's good!" Willow said.

Buffy held her stake in midair, completely confused. She understood Willow didn't want to her to kill Spike, but why? "He's…_good? _Spike? _Spike? _The 'Spike that tried to _kill me_ Spike?'_"_

Willow nodded. "He won't hurt you, Buffy."

Buffy looked at Spike laying on the floor, realizing that he hadn't actually hit her. But she was still wary of him. "Why not? Does he have a soul?"

"No, but he has a chip," Xander said.

"A…what?"

"He has a behavior-modifying chip implanted in his brain," Willow explained. "If he hurts a human, he gets a nasty jolt to the head."

"But he can fight demons and other vampires all he wants," Xander added. "So he's sort of been…helping us now."

Buffy laughed out loud, hysterically, and stood up. "This is unbelievable. Are you sure I'm not under some kind of spell because I swear this has got to be Bizzarro Sunnydale. Did you say that Spike _helps_ us?"

"Well it's not as if we're buddies or anything," Xander said. "But he does come through for us every now and then."

Spike held his stomach and coughed up a little blood. "You keep a stake under your pillow?!" he squeaked out.

"I'm the slayer and a hospital is a public place. It'd be stupid not to. Any vampire could just come waltzing in here at any time." Buffy indicated the vampire on the floor, still writing in pain. "Case in point."

"Sorry, Buffy," Willow said. "We should have told you about Spike. We just didn't think he'd actually show up here." Willow gave Spike a disapproving look.

Spike sat up from the floor, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Oh sure, Red, apologize to her. Don't pay me any mind. You know, you could have warned me she had amnesia."

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Xander asked Spike, casting a glare in his direction.

Spike glanced at Xander briefly and stood to his feet, staring the Slayer down. "I have information. But you know what? I don't really feel like helping you right now."

Buffy smiled. "Fine. I don't want your help, Spike."

"Fine then! Fight your own bloody demons from now on!" With that, Spike stormed out of the room.

"Maybe I should go talk to him," Willow said.

Xander shook his head. "Nah. Spike's bluffing. He doesn't have information. He just wants money." Xander caught the look of confusion on Buffy's face. "Sometimes he only helps if we pay him."

Buffy stared at her friends, still confused. "Okay, does someone want to tell me—" Buffy lost her train of thought as the room began to spin. She grabbed on to the bed rail for support.

"Buff, you okay?" Xander rushed to her side, holding her steady.

"I just felt a little dizzy there for a moment. I probably shouldn't have got out of bed so quickly."

Willow took one of Buffy's hands, helping Xander support her. "Come on, let's get you back into bed."

"Yeah. Bed's good," Buffy agreed.

"Should we call the nurse?" Xander asked once Buffy was settled.

"No, I'm fine. Really. The room's not spinning anymore."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Maybe you could get me some water though?" Buffy pointed to the pitcher on her bed tray.

"Sure." Willow reached for the pitcher and poured some water into the cup sitting beside it, then handed it to her with an oversized straw. "Better?"

Buffy nodded as she took a sip. "Yeah. Thanks. So, back to what I was saying. Does someone want to tell me what's going on?"

"Where do you want us to start?" Xander asked.

"For starters, why is Spike back in town?"

"He came looking for the Gem of Amarra."

Buffy started at Xander in confusion. "What's that?"

"Basically, it's this ring that makes a vampire invulnerable to…everything. Sunlight, wooden stakes, holy water…you name it."

"I'm guessing he didn't find it."

"Oh, he found it," Willow answered. "But you took it away from him though. And you gave it to Angel for safekeeping."

"Okay, so I understand why Spike came to town. Why is he still here?"

"Did Riley tell you anything about the Initiative?" Willow asked.

"He mentioned it. He said they hunt vampires and have a bunch of cool weapons, but he didn't explain it in detail."

"They're the ones that put the chip in Spike's brain."

"And now he's hanging around us and…helping? Why?"

"I guess he decided he couldn't beat us," Xander said. "So he joined us."

Willow started to laugh. "Remember when he showed up at Giles'?"

Xander laughed with her. "Oh yeah."

"What? What happened? Girl with no memory here. I want to be in on the joke too."

"At first we tied him to a chair," Willow said. "Then Giles had him chained up in the bathtub. And you fed him pig's blood through a straw!" Willow, laughing hard, held up the cup of water for demonstration.

"Why was he at Giles?"

"Because Giles is smart," Xander explained. "I think Spike was hoping Giles would help him figure out how to solve his little…impotence problem."

An image of what Spike must look like chained up in a tub and drinking blood through a straw came to mind, and Buffy started to laugh. "Like we would ever do that!"

The three had been laughing so hard that they hadn't heard the knock on the door. Wesley stood in the doorway with flowers, hesitant to interrupt the moment.

"Wesley," Buffy said, being the first to notice his presence.

Willow and Xander turned around, realizing Buffy had more company.

"Wes, hey man," Xander said.

"Hey, Wesley," Willow said.

"Hello all," Wesley said, still hesitant in greeting. "I er, thought I'd come by and see how you were feeling, Buffy. And to bring you these." Wesley indicated the small vase in his hands.

"Thanks, Wesley. It's good to see you."

Wesley smiled. "You as well. You certainly look like you're feeling a lot better than you were. How are you feeling?"

"Okay for now," she replied, although would she wasn't quite certain she ever really be "okay".

"Well I don't intend to impose on your visit," Wesley said. "I just wanted to stop by and say hello."

"Stay, Wesley," Xander said.

"Yeah, stay and tell us about being a 'rogue demon hunter'," Willow said with a smile.

"And is it true that you really ride a motorcycle?" Xander asked.

"And that you actually own a pair of leather pants?" Willow added.

"Well, I uh…" Wesley started, suddenly feeling a little shy from all the attention.

Buffy smiled, seeing what her friends were doing. They all loved Wesley, but it was kind of a funny when he got nervous. And a little light humor was definitely what the doctor ordered.

* * *

Spike left the hospital fuming.

_I don't want your help, Spike._

Damn the Slayer and her little Scooby gang. It figured whenever he actually had good information for them, they wouldn't be interested. He'd seen more warrior vampires near the ruins of the high school. He wasn't about to tell them now. Their loss, really.

Just as Spike turned the corner towards the back of the hospital, he nearly collided with two vampires.

"Oh, look who we have here. It's the Slayer's lap dog!" one of them said.

Spike had never met them, but they obviously knew who he was.

"You better watch what you say, Dom. He might stake you."

"Ooo, should I be scared?" the one called Dom asked. "Must be hard doing all the Slayer's bidding and never getting anything in return."

"Yeah, how do you stand it? Why don't you just kill her already and do us all a favor? And save some of her for the rest of us while you're at it."

"He can't kill her, Danny. He can't hurt _any_ humans. He's been _neutered._"

"Oh, right! I forgot. Hey, lucky for you it's blood delivery day, huh?"

The vampires laughed in unison.

Under normal circumstances, Spike would have punched the bastards into a bloody pulp, or a pile of dust. But he didn't have a stake with him tonight, and besides, he didn't want to prove he was _anybody's_ 'lap dog'.

"She's in room 218. You want her? Go get her. Now sod off and leave me the bloody hell alone." Spike pushed the vampires aside and walked away.

The vampires exchanged glances and began to laugh.

"What do you say, Danny? Shall we go see a Slayer?"

Danny shook his head. "On a full stomach? I wish you'd asked me a half hour ago."

* * *

Sometime after breakfast the next morning, Buffy heard a light tap on the door. She had been surprised for a moment to see it was Riley until she remembered he mentioned wanting to stop by.

"You didn't have to bring me more flowers," she said as Riley placed another vase on her dresser. "I have so many already."

"I wanted to." Riley pulled up a chair to sit down. "So, how are feeling this morning?"

"Still a little tired sometimes. The doctor says that normal. Otherwise I'm fine. Making rapid progress they say, like I'm some kind of miracle patient or something."

"Have you remembered anything yet?" he asked hopefully.

Buffy thought back to the flashback that had been haunting her since last night. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "No, nothing yet. What do you have there?" Buffy pointed to the small book Riley held.

"Oh, this? It's your photo album. Here." Riley handed her the small album. "I thought maybe it would help if you could look at a few pictures. Maybe something might jog your memory."

Buffy smiled. "Thanks. That's a good idea." She opened the book and stared at the first picture. "Wow, this is kind of weird."

"What's that?"

"Looking at this picture and not remembering anything about it. I mean, I know it's me. I know I was there. But the memory is just…gone."

"Let me see." Riley reached over and turned the photo album to see what picture she was looking out. "I think that was your first week of college."

Buffy flipped through a few more pictures and stopped at one that held her interest. "Obviously a frat party. Hopefully no giant reptiles involved."

"Giant reptiles?"

"Yeah, you know, the kind that like to lurk around in the basement of the fraternity house and feed off teenage girls meant as sacrifices?"

If Riley hadn't thought she was serious, he would have laughed. "No giant reptiles involved, I promise. Although we did have a ghost problem one time. Made everyone do really crazy things…"

"Oh my god."

Riley looked up hopefully. "Do you remember something?"

"No. I'm just looking at this picture from Halloween. Or at least I'm assuming it Halloween judging from the big pumpkin in the background." Buffy showed Riley the picture. "Please tell me this is a joke. I didn't actually dress like Little Red Riding Hood, did I?"

Riley laughed. "You really did. I think it was a last minute sort of costume."

"Oh my god. I already wore this costume…when I was _twelve! _I remember because my dad took me trick-or-treating! How the hell did I even get it to fit me?"

"You said you had—" _your mother alter it,_ he almost said, but luckily had stopped himself. He didn't want to remind Buffy about her mother again. "You said you had it altered."

"I'm surprised I still had it. Oh, here's one of you and me." Buffy showed him a picture of the two of them, obviously having some sort of picnic.

Riley smiled, remembering the day. He was glad now he had asked someone to take their picture. "Our first date."

"Our first….date?"

"Well…maybe 'date' isn't the right word. But I was working my way up to it."

Buffy perused the album, flipping through page after page of more memories lost. She could sometimes at least get an idea of when the picture was taken. Holidays were usually obvious.

Towards the end of the album, she came across a picture of herself sitting on the sand. "Oh. Beach." She didn't remember having her picture taken, but at least the place was definitely familiar.

Buffy turned the page, seeing a few more of herself and Riley, as well as a few other people she didn't recognize.

"Those were taken about two weeks ago. You had them developed right before…well, you know."

"Who are they?" Buffy pointed to the unfamiliar people.

"That's my friend Forrest, and that's Graham. Friends and colleagues. They're in the Initiative as well."

"Right, the Initiative. Willow and Xander sort of filled me in last night on what that's all about."

"Did they tell you about the Initiative lab?"

"Lab?"

"It's on campus. Located underground at the fraternity house actually."

Buffy smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, but you didn't hear that from me."

"I guess you have something lurking in your frat house basement after all."

Riley smiled. "I guess so, but nothing that could hurt you."

"Right, mind-altering chips. I feel like I've woken up from my coma and landed myself in a sci-fi monster movie."

Riley laughed. It felt so good to have Buffy awake, Buffy _talking._ He had missed hearing the funny things she'd often say.

Buffy turned the page again, coming to a few pictures of her and Riley apparently goofing off with a football. It was strange to think that these pictures had only been taken two weeks ago. Had she actually been happy? The smile was there on her face.

"That was after I said you threw like a girl," Riley said, indicating one of the pictures Buffy was looking at. "After that, you creamed me."

Buffy laughed. "Rightfully so. It looks like we had a good time."

"Yeah, we did. Until of course that mutant ninja thing ruined it all and attacked us."

Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry…mutant ninja thing?"

"Yeah, this sword-wielding ninja with a ruby in its forehead. I can't remember what it was called. I'd have to look it up again. You kicked it's ass though. Pretty impressive."

The very last photo in the album was one of herself and Riley kissing. Lip-locking was probably a more accurate word. If the other pictures had been strange to look at, this one was almost awkward.

"One of the guys took that last one," Riley said quickly, wondering if looking at pictures was making her uncomfortable. He had forgotten that picture was in there. "We didn't know anyone was taking our picture."

"Obviously," Buffy said and closed the photo album. "Riley, I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault you can't remember. Maybe I should be the one apologizing. I'm sorry if looking at these pictures has made you uncomfortable in any way. But, Buffy, I can't lie to you. I love you. Even if you can't remember us, I still love you. And I just hope that some day, you'll learn to love me again."

Buffy didn't know how to respond to that. Had she really loved him before? The pictures told her one story, but her heart told another. How could she love anyone as much as she had loved Angel?

Riley leaned forward, pulling Buffy away from her thoughts. Her eyes widened when she realized his intentions were to kiss her. She felt relieved when that kiss was only on her cheek.

"I have to go. I'll see you later."

Buffy nodded, watching as Riley stood up and left the room. She picked up the photo album again, looking again at the last few pictures. She hadn't realized it before, but looking again, it was clear. The smile on her face was there, and maybe she had been happy, but the truth was right there in her eyes.

She did not love Riley Finn.

* * *

A/N: Yes, even without her memory, Buffy still knows…Riley just doesn't compare to Angel. ;)

Okay, a quick note regarding Spike. I just want to make one thing clear: He does NOT have feelings for Buffy.

I'm taking Spike in a totally different direction from the show. The only thing that Spike really wants from anybody, including Buffy, is acceptance. The other vampires treat him like an outcast now because of the chip, and the Scooby Gang doesn't want much to do with him either. But Spike's not going anywhere. I have big plans for him later on in the story. I hope you'll all like where I'm going with it…

Well, until chapter 14…and yes, B/A interaction coming up. I know, I know, this chapter was severely lacking with the B/A! (Sorry!)


	14. I Still Love You

A/N: The scene written in italics is a flashback from Angel's POV, not a dream or Buffy remembering something, just so you know.

* * *

Buffy stared at herself in the mirror, disgusted at the pale image reflected back at her. There was nothing like a stint in the hospital that made a person feel worse about themselves.

_You almost died, Summers._

Buffy sighed, feeling guilty for hating the reflection in the mirror. She should be grateful to still be alive.

She slowly opened the door and made her way out of the bathroom, being careful not to move too quickly. Her head was already starting to ache.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing out of bed?" Hank said, walking into his daughter's room. He immediately rushed over to assist her.

"I just had to use bathroom, Daddy," Buffy explained. "I'm allowed to do that, right?"

"Can you at least call a nurse next time? You hear all the time about hospital patients falling on the floor and no one comes to help them."

"I think they say that about old people." The moment she said this, of course, she nearly lost her balance. Buffy grabbed on to her father's arm. "Okay, maybe I do feel a little woozy."

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." Hank held Buffy steady as she climbed back onto the mattress. "Better?"

Buffy nodded, feeling settled now. "Yeah."

"Hi, Buffy." One of the younger and friendlier nurses walked into her room. She nodded at Hank. "Hello."

"Hello, Nurse…" Hank looked for her nametag on her floral-covered scrubs. "Chloe. Pretty name."

The young nurse smiled. "How are you feeling today? Any more headaches? Dizzy spells?"

"Just a little, but mostly I feel better."

"So will my daughter be able to go home soon?"

"Please say yes," Buffy begged.

"I'm not sure. I think Dr. Drake will probably want you to stay a few more days. But if you keep improving, I don't see why not."

"So there's a possibility I _can _go home soon?"

"It's a possibility. You know, you're very fortunate."

"She certainly is," Hank said, smiling at his daughter.

"I saw you when you first came in. It's a good thing your boyfriend was able to bring you in so quickly. If he hadn't, it may have been too late."

Hank turned to Buffy, surprised. "Riley saved your life? Buffy, you didn't tell me that."

"Actually, it was Angel who brought me in."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Chloe said, blushing. "I just assumed he was your boyfriend. He spent so much time here with you. That's why I thought—"

"That's okay. He's a good friend." Buffy supposed she would have to get used to thinking that way. She had to remember she and Angel weren't together anymore.

"Well, I'll come check on you later. Call if you need anything."

"I will."

Buffy watched as the nurse walked out of the room, then turned back to her father. "What?" she asked when he kept smiling at her.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie. I'm sorry I haven't been around much. I'd like to change that."

"I'd like that too."

"I have something I want to show you." Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo envelope. "I just had these developed. Thought you'd like to see where I'm staying."

"It must be picture day," Buffy said as she took the pictures from her father. "Riley was showing me some pictures this morning. He thought it might help jog my memory," she explained.

"Have you remembered anything yet?"

Buffy flashed backed again to the horrible car accident in her mind, then quickly shut the door on that memory. "No."

"You will, honey. Just give it some time. Well go on, check out those pictures. You're going to love this place."

The first picture was taken from a balcony overlooking a breathtaking view the Mediterranean. "Wow. It's…it's so beautiful."

"That's the view from my penthouse."

"Are you _serious_?"

"Are you sure don't want to come back to Spain with me?"

Buffy laughed. "I can see why you like it there."

"It's nice. I still miss California sometimes, but when the opportunity came along to work abroad…well, I couldn't pass it up. It's _Spain. _It's the chance of a lifetime."

"So um…this Spain thing. Is this temporary or are we talking a more permanent living situation?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I still have the house in Los Angeles, but I've been traveling so much back and forth lately. It's easier to stay in Europe. I might be there for another year, maybe more."

Buffy looked through several more pictures with her father telling her about each one. And then, she came to a picture of a woman.

"Hey, I know her. She looks familiar."

"You remember her?"

"Yeah. She's your secretary. You just hired her that summer I went to stay with you. I don't remember her name though. Natalie? Nicole?"

"Natasha."

"Right. I knew it started with an 'N'. Wow, she's been with you for a long time, and she's traveling with you now. What did you do, give her a raise?"

Hank smiled. "Actually, sweetie, I asked her to marry me."

* * *

Buffy flipped mindlessly through the television channels, bored out of her mind. She was surprised to learn the hospital actually had cable, but on a Saturday afternoon, even cable didn't have much to offer.

Buffy turned the TV off. It was giving her a headache anyway.

Or maybe it was the bomb her father had dropped on her earlier.

A knock on the door was a welcome relief from her boredom. "Hey, Buffster."

"Xander!"

"Thought you could use some company. And I bring forth food!" Xander held up a brown paper bag, soaked with grease at the bottom.

Buffy didn't care for the greasiness factor, but whatever was inside certainly smelled good. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you thought it was a cheeseburger and some French fries, then you would be correct." Xander handed the bag to Buffy, which she took eagerly.

"Oh my god! Do you know how much I've been _craving_ normal food?"

"Well I heard you weren't eating and I figured it had at least something to do with the quality of the food here." Xander glanced at the untouched tray of food on her bedside table.

"It leaves a lot to be desired," Buffy said as she unwrapped the burger from the paper wrapping. "Well, the jello isn't half bad. This is much better though."

"So how you holding up?"

"Do you really want to know?" Buffy didn't wait for his answer. "Let's see. The doctor won't let me go home yet. My boyfriend is a total stranger to me. My ex-boyfriend is the guy I'm still in love with and can never be with. I can't remember a damn thing from the past year. And…oh yeah, my dad is marrying his twenty-five year old secretary. That's how I'm holding up."

"Your dad's…what?"

"He's marrying his secretary! She's twenty-five, Xander! _Twenty-five!_ That's only a few years older than me! How messed up is _that?"_

"Maybe your dad's having a midlife crisis."

"Then why couldn't he get a sports car like Giles?"

Xander shrugged, not sure how to respond.

Buffy sighed. "Xander, I'm sorry. You're the first person I've been able to vent to and I just had to let it all out."

"It's okay. You can vent all you want. Anytime. I'm always here for you."

Buffy, done complaining, finally took a bite of her burger. "This is really good by the way."

"Who said fast food wasn't good, right?" Xander said, helping himself to her fries. "Oh, and I have something else for you." Xander rummaged around in the bag he brought with him and pulled out a comic book.

Buffy grinned. "A comic book?"

"I know you probably think they're dumb, but they can be surprisingly entertaining."

"Thanks, Xander."

"You're welcome. When you were in the coma, I'd read to you sometimes. I was reading that one to you when you squeezed my hand. Do you remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Everything from when I was in a coma is sort of a blur, you know? But I think I do remember you sitting with me."

"We were all so scared for you, Buffy. But none of us gave up."

"Thanks for not giving up on me."

A knock on the door got their attention, and Anya poked her head into the door. "Hey. Can I come in?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah." He turned to Buffy. "Unless your not up for more company?"

"Oh please, I'm dying for socialization! If I see one more person in scrubs…"

"What will you do?" Anya asked as she walked into the room.

"What?"

"If you see another person in scrubs? What will you do? You sort of left us hanging there."

Buffy stared at Anya for a moment, confused.

"Buffy just means she wants to get out of here, An."

"Oh." Anya glanced around the room that was filled with flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. She jumped at the sight of one particular flower arrangement with a stuffed bunny attached to the vase. "I can see why. I'd want out of here too." Anya turned away from the bunny, not wanting to stare at it for a moment longer. "So, Xander said you have amnesia. Can you still not remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "Unfortunately, no."

"Do you remember me?"

"Vaguely. I remember you were at our school, but the rest…it's just so blurry. But Xander told me about you."

"Room for two more in here?" Willow asked, standing in the doorway.

"Willow! Hey."

"Hey, Buffy."

Behind Willow was a girl that Buffy didn't recognize, but she seemed like she must belong to the group. "Oh, new person. Or…uh…new person to me anyway."

"Buffy, this is Tara," Willow said.

"Hey, Buffy," Tara said, giving her a little wave.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you…again. I'm sorry I don't remember you."

"That's okay. Here, I brought you flowers." Tara held out a small bundle of carnations. "Although I can clearly see now that you have so many already."

"Maybe you should get rid of some of them," Anya suggested, and pointed to the flowers with the bunny. "Maybe get rid of that one." Anya looked around the room, wondering why everyone was staring at her. "What? I told you guys already. Bunnies freak me out! I swear that thing is staring at me with its beady little eyes."

Buffy looked around the room, smiling. "It's so nice to have all you guys around. The whole group is together now, with a few new faces too. Except…" Buffy looked around the room, thinking for a moment. Something was different. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was definitely missing. No, not something, but _someone_. She turned to Willow. "Oh, I know now. _Oz!_ I just realized I haven't seen him at all! Where is he?"

"Oh, right. I forgot you didn't know…" Willow said, suddenly nervous.

"Know what? Oz is okay, right? _Right?"_

"Oz is fine," Willow answered. "It's just that, well…Oz kind of left. And we sort of…broke up."

"Oh, Willow. I'm…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean...I didn't know. I just wondered where he was. No one told me—"

"Oh, it's okay! Actually, I wanted to tell you. There's someone new in my life now."

The smile on Buffy's face returned. "Oh, Will, that's great! I'm sorry it didn't work out with Oz but I'm glad you found someone new. So who's the lucky guy? Tell me all about him!"

Tara's eyes shifted to a spot on the floor, and Willow glanced at her briefly. "Um, well…"

"Oh it's not a guy," Anya announced for them. "Willow's a lesbian now."

Willow glared at Anya, and Tara shifted on her feet nervously.

"What?" Anya said defensively. "Well you _are_! I didn't say there was anything wrong with it! I was just stating the facts."

Buffy felt like she knew her friends pretty well, but she hadn't been expecting this. As she studied Willow, then Tara, things suddenly became very clear. Tara was obviously this new person in Willow's life. "Willow, that's…wow, that's great. It's just, uh, kind of a surprise."

"Yeah, I know. It was sort of a surprise for me too," Willow said with a nervous laughter.

"I'm really happy for you, Will. For both of you. And you look happy too."

"We are really happy," Willow said, smiling now and taking hold of Tara's hand.

"So um…how did you two meet?"

"We met through our Wicca group," Willow said.

Buffy turned to Tara. "Oh, so you're a—"

"Witch," Tara said, finishing her thought. "But Willow's way more advanced than me."

"No I'm not. You've been doing this a lot longer and you know it."

"But you've advanced a lot quicker. She's just being modest. She's really getting to be a powerful Wicca."

"Yeah, some powerful Wicca that still hasn't figured out how to de-rat Amy."

"Amy's still a rat, huh?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah," Willow nodded. "We're still working on a way to change her back."

"I guess not everything has changed around here," Buffy said.

* * *

Angel was leaving Buffy's bedroom when he passed Willow in the hallway, startling her.

"Angel!" she gasped with her hand over her heart. "You scared me. I didn't know anyone was here."

"I'm sorry. There was no one home when I knocked on the door. I just let myself in…"

"That's okay." Now that Willow had calmed down, she wondered what Angel was doing here. She then noticed a familiar stuffed pig in his hands and raised an eyebrow. "So uh…are you taking Mr. Gordo out for a patrol? Because I'm not so sure Buffy would like that very much."

"What? Oh." Angel looked down at the pig, having forgotten he was even holding it for a moment. "I was just going to take him to Buffy. I think she's feeling a little homesick and I thought this might help."

"Yeah, Buffy really hates hospitals. I hope she can come home soon. It's hard to believe we came so close to losing her, you know? I can't even imagine what that would be like. A world without Buffy."

_A world without Buffy._

Hard to imagine, yes, and even harder to learn how to do, Angel thought.

"Willow, can I ask you something?"

Willow nodded. "Sure."

"Is Buffy…is she happy? With Riley, I mean. Does Riley make her happy?"

"Well…Riley's a really good guy. He would never hurt her."

"That's good to know, Willow, but not exactly what I was asking."

Willow paused for a moment, then spoke. "Yes. Riley makes her happy. She wouldn't be with him if he didn't."

* * *

Buffy touched the flowers by her bed. Her room really _was_ starting to look like a florist. Most of them were from Riley, but there were a few from the hospital staff as well. Apparently the nurses thought she was some kind of miracle patient. _A lucky girl._

Buffy wished she could share their sentiment. Maybe it was a miracle she was out of the coma, but she felt anything but lucky. Often times, she'd wonder to herself when her mother was going to come visit her. Then she'd remember again. _Her mother was gone._

Buffy wished that maybe, just maybe, she could close her eyes, wish real hard, then wake to find everything normal again. But no matter how hard she wished, it was not going to happen.

_A lucky girl._ Not even close.

Buffy looked at the open doorway and saw a familiar nurse passing by. "Nurse?"

Nurse Chloe peered into her room and smiled. "Hey, Buffy. Can I get you something?"

"Can you take some of these flowers to Pediatrics?" she asked, indicating the two vases on her bedside table. "Maybe give them to a kid or someone? I just have so many."

Chloe smiled and took the flowers. "Sure. I'll see to it that they go to someone who could really use them."

"Thanks."

As Chloe left the room, Buffy smiled, seeing Angel walk in. At least there was one bright spot in her day. "Angel."

He walked over to the bed, carrying something behind his back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here. What are you hiding behind your back?"

Angel grinned and showed her what he was hiding.

"Mr. Gordo!" Buffy grabbed the pig, hugging it close as if she were a child again. "You brought me Mr. Gordo?" She laughed, because the gesture was sweet, and a little surprising.

Angel pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. "Thought it'd help to have something familiar around."

"It does. Thank you."

Angel reached for her hand, gently placing his hand over hers. "How are you really?"

"Okay," Buffy said after a moment. "Some minutes are harder than others. I keep thinking that Mom's going to come through that door any moment. I know she's not, but my mind keeps wanting to hope. You know? Like maybe this is a bad dream or something. Or I'm under some freaky spell in Bizarro Sunnydale, and I can't quite figure out how to make things right again."

"It'll get easier."

"Did I ever tell you how I got Mr. Gordo?" Buffy asked, changing the subject as she played with the piggy's tail.

Angel laughed. "No, I don't think so."

"It was at a carnival I went to with my parents. I don't remember how old I was. Maybe eleven…twelve? I was young enough to think hanging out with my parents was still cool. Anyway, at the carnival, we had a blast. We rode every ride until we were sick. Well, my dad and I did at least. Mom stood along the sidelines and held our stuff. We ate nothing but junk food. Hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn. And when we got tired riding all the rides, we played every carnival game we could until our money ran out. You know the game with the milk bottles and the softball and you have to knock them down?"

Angel nodded.

"That's the game I won. The prize was Mr. Gordo, and that's how he came into my life."

"It sounds like you all had a really good time."

"We did. It was the last time that I could remember my parents happy together. The three of us happy together. After that, Dad started working all the time, and he and Mom would argue a lot. Their relationship went pretty much downhill from there. I'd be in my room, on my bed, holding Mr. Gordo and thinking to myself that it was okay for them to fight every now and then. But I never thought they'd get a divorce."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. There's no point in being sad about it now. I can't do anything to change what happened. It has been nice having my dad here though. I don't see him a lot. But I'm sure he'll probably want to be leaving tomorrow. He'll want to get back to work."

"Maybe he'll surprise you and stay a little longer," Angel said.

"What about you?"

"What?"

"How long are you staying? Have you decided when you're going back?"

"No, not yet."

"Good."

Angel saw the look in her eyes. He knew what she was thinking, and he couldn't let her go there.

_Riley makes her happy. She wouldn't be with him if he didn't._

"Buffy…we can't."

"Why not? Why can't we just pick up where we left off? I don't care if our relationship can't be normal. I just want you in my life."

"Buffy—"

"I still love you, Angel. Despite everything that must have happened between us, I still love you. I could forget everything but my heart would still remember. I'll always love you. There's nothing you could ever do to change that."

"Buffy, it's not that simple. And it's not that I don't love you."

"I know that. You wouldn't haven't driven two hours to save my life if you didn't love me."

"It's that I love you too much. Whenever I'm around you, I'm reminded of everything I can't give you."

"And when you leave, I'll be reminded of everything I lost."

Angel opened his mouth as if to protest again, but Buffy placed her finger over his lips. "No. Don't say anything else. I'm just telling you how I feel."

Buffy suddenly yawned and laid back on her pillow, holding on to the blanket and Mr. Gordo tightly. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Angel nodded. "Sure."

He reached over to turn off the lamp, and soon enough, Buffy was asleep.

* * *

_Angel knelt down beside the grave and placed the bouquet of flowers next to the others. He ran his hand along the lettering of the headstone._

**Joyce Summers**

**August 12, 1958 – March 3, 2000**

"_Hi, Joyce. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person in the world, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't like me much at all. I wish…I wish I had taken the time to get to know you better, and I'm sorry that I never really tried to do that. Maybe that's one of the reasons you didn't like me. Well, that as well as the obvious reasons. _

"_Buffy would talk about you all the time. She said you were the strongest person she'd ever known, and that you could take any problem, big or small, and find a solution. She also talked about your warmth, and your kindness. Buffy says that she can't go on without you. She's wrong though, not to say that she doesn't need you. But you've raised an amazing daughter, Joyce, and I don't want you to worry about Buffy. She's going to be just fine. It'll take her some time, some time to heal, but she'll bounce back soon enough. She's a strong woman. I think she gets that from you."_

"_Angel?"_

_Angel turned around, seeing Buffy walk towards him. _

"_What are you—I thought you already left."_

"_I'm just paying my respects before I leave. I didn't go to the funeral on account of the sun and all."_

"_It means a lot to me that you came here."_

"_Buffy, what are you doing out here? You should be home right now."_

_Buffy wrapped her jacket around her a little tighter and knelt down beside him. "I had to get out of there. I had to get out of that house. Everyone keeps coming over with food when I don't feel like eating. Everyone keeps watching me, waiting for me to fall apart. I'm tired of everyone asking me if I need anything. And I'm tired of everyone asking me if I'm okay. I know they're all just trying to be nice, but they can't give me anything I need. Nobody can. And I'm not going to be okay, because my mother is dead."_

_Buffy's composure began to crack and Angel pulled her into his embrace. She sobbed against his chest, and Angel held her as she cried._

"_No one knows what to do in this situation, Buffy," he whispered. "You'll be sad for a long time, and you'll always miss your mother. But one day, you'll be able to think of her again and smile. I promise. You just have to give it time."_

_Angel smoothed her hair back and felt her sobs finally start to subside. _

_She slowly pulled away from his embrace, looking into his eyes. "Angel, please don't go back to L.A. I know what we said before, that we would try to forget. But, Angel, I can't."_

"_Buffy—"_

"_I still love you."_

_Buffy inched closer to him, so close that Angel could hear the rapid sound of her heart beating. And before he could even process what was happening, she kissed him._

_The kiss was soft, light at first, but quickly advanced into something more desperate and all-consuming. It had been so long since he'd felt her lips against his. Everything was just as he remembered. Her touch, her scent, the way she tasted. Angel let himself get lost in the moment, remembering how it felt to have Buffy in his arms. _

_Buffy slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes, searching for answers. "See? You feel the same way. You can't deny it. It's right there in your eyes."_

_A rumble of thunder roared above them, signaling an approaching storm._

"_Buffy, we…we can't."_

"_We can if you would just let us."_

"_Riley loves you. You have a good thing going with him. You could be happy."_

"_Riley doesn't make me feel the way you do."_

_It started to rain, but Buffy didn't seem to care about getting wet._

"_Say you'll stay, Angel." _

_A car horn sounded, and Angel turned his head to see Riley's car pulling up by the side of the road. _

"_Buffy!"_

_Buffy looked at Riley, then turned back to Angel. "Angel, please."_

"_Buffy!" Riley yelled again._

_The rain was steady now, and it had completely soaked Buffy's hair. It reminded Angel of another time he'd seen her this way. No, there was no good in him staying here. "Go on. Riley's waiting for you."_

_He'd done it. He'd hurt her again. He could see the pain in her eyes. And without another word, Buffy stood to her feet, turned on her heel, and walked away from him. She met Riley half-way._

_Angel watched as Riley took off his heavier coat and wrapped it around her._

"_Honey, you're soaked! What are you doing out here?"_

"_I just wanted to visit Mom one more time."_

_Riley looked over her shoulder and stared at Angel. "Come on, let's get you home."_

"_No, I don't want to go home. Take me to your place. Make me forget, Riley."_

_Buffy turned her head once more and caught Angel's gaze. Then she got into Riley's car and moments later, they were gone. _

* * *

A/N: I love that while everyone else has been bringing Buffy flowers, Angel brought her Mr. Gordo. :) Personally, I think that's way sweeter than flowers. :) And yay, an appearance by Mr. Gordo! LOL Oh by the way, I don't know where Mr. Gordo came from, or even if we ever found out how he came into Buffy's life, so I created his own backstory.

Oh, and I don't know if anyone picked up on the cameo appearance, but if you did, yes, that was Michelle Trachtenberg's character from _Mercy._ (Which I think is a really great show! Michelle's character is hilarious! If it gets canceled, I'm going to be really sad.)

Well….until 15! Thanks for reading, everybody :)


	15. Homecoming

Buffy watched Dr. Drake as he made some notes on her chart.

"How are the headaches?" he asked.

"Fine. Haven't had any since Saturday."

"And the dizzy spells?"

"Not since Sunday."

"Good. That's really good, Buffy. This is amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a coma patient recover as quickly as you have."

Buffy smiled. "I told you I heal fast. So, Dr. Drake—"

"Can you go home soon?" the doctor said, finishing her thought. He gave her a smile. Buffy asked this question each and every time at rounds.

Buffy laughed. "Yes. So…can I?"

The doctor put away Buffy's chart and gave her a smile. "Yes, I'd say that's a very certain possibility."

"Great! So…how soon?"

The doctor just gave her a smile. "Soon. I'll see you later."

As the doctor left the room, he passed Willow and Tara. "Good morning, ladies."

"Morning," Willow said. "Hi, Buffy."

"Hey, you guys."

"Tara and I stopped by the coffee shop on the way here and we thought you'd like a mocha." Willow walked over to the bed and handed Buffy the coffee.

Buffy took the coffee gratefully. "Thanks."

Tara gave her a smile. "So how are feeling?" Tara asked as she sat down.

"Actually, pretty good right now! The doctor just said I should be able to go home soon."

Willow eyes brightened. "Buffy, that's great news! How soon?"

"I don't know. He just said soon. I'm so ready to get out of here. I can't wait to be in my own room in my own bed with all of my stuff. And to be able to sleep uninterrupted without a nurse checking in on me every five minutes."

Willow and Tara exchanged a look, and Buffy noticed.

"Oh no," she muttered, looking from Willow to Tara. "You two have that look on your face."

"No, there's no look," Willow insisted, shaking her head.

"Yes, there is. You two have the same look that everyone's been having lately when I mention something that's changed. Well, what is it? Has the house burned down or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that. The house is fine," Willow started. "We probably should have told you this sooner. I guess we were waiting to see if you would get your memory back."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, you've sort of been living with Riley for the last couple of months."

Buffy's eyes widened. "I _live_ with Riley?"

Willow nodded. "When your mom…"

Buffy winced as the thought hit her again. Her mother was _gone._

"Well, you moved out of the dorm and stayed at the house for a little while. You hated the idea of the house just sitting there with no one living inside. But then you decided you didn't like it. You said the house was too empty, too quiet, and so you moved in with Riley. He had just got an apartment off campus and you two were getting pretty serious. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"So I have no home to go to now? Is that what you're saying?"

"Oh no, the house is still there! And your room is just the way you left it. I think your mom's life insurance might have paid for the house or something. I know your dad sends you money every month too."

"You let Willow and I live there for the summer," Tara said. "And our kitten. I hope that's still okay."

"Sure, that's fine. I just…I can't live with Riley. Yes, he's nice, and he brings me flowers every morning which is thoughtful. But I can't _live_ with him. I mean, what would the sleeping arrangements be like? Would I still have to share a bed with him? Because that wouldn't be weird enough! Boyfriend or not, he's a complete stranger to me."

Outside the door, Riley had been listening. He had come to visit Buffy, just as he had the last few mornings, but he didn't want to interrupt the girls' conversation. When he realized he _was_ the conversation, he couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"You could come back to the house. It's not a problem," Willow quickly said. "Like I said, your room is just how you left it."

Buffy nodded. "I think that would really be the best solution. I still have clothes there too, right?"

"You do," Tara said. "But Willow and I could pick up the rest of your things if you like."

"Thanks. That would be great. That definitely seems like an awkward situation that I'd like to avoid. And I don't want to give Riley the wrong idea by showing up there, you know? I just can't move back in with him. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to him. I'm still in love with Angel."

Riley, feeling his heart breaking, had heard enough. He walked away from the room and headed back to the elevator. On his way out, he threw the flowers and stuffed bear he'd bought for Buffy at the gift shop in the garbage. Then he left the hospital, completely unnoticed.

* * *

Buffy's father had surprised her by staying an extra day. She thought for sure he would have left by yesterday and already be on a plane back to Spain, but it wasn't until Monday night that he was ready to finally leave. Even though an extra day wasn't much, at least it was something.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, sweetheart?" Hank asked his daughter once again as he prepared to leave.

"Dad, I told you. I'm fine. And I'm going to be okay. I've got my friends here and they're all going to help me."

"I feel bad leaving you when it feels like I just got here but work is just... I know you've been through a lot. You know I'm going to pay for all of these hospital bills, don't you?"

Buffy smiled. "That would be great. I'll try not to get myself beat up again. I don't want to come back here."

Hank touched Buffy on the cheek and smiled at her. "No, I imagine you don't. You know I'm only a phone call away, right?"

Buffy nodded. "I know."

"And you'll call me later this week and let me know how things are going?"

"I will."

"I love you, sweetheart." Hank leaned forward and gave his daughter a hug.

"Love you too."

Buffy watched as her father stood to his feet and turned to leave. As he did, he crossed Angel in the doorway.

The two men hadn't had much of an opportunity to talk, but Hank knew he had played a role in saving his daughter's life, and that was good enough for him. "Angel, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for my little girl," he said as he shook Angel's hand.

"Daddy, I'm eighteen—I mean nineteen years old. I'm not so little anymore."

Hank smiled at Buffy. He couldn't help it. Sometimes, he still saw her as that fifteen-year-old-girl, insisting an expensive dress for a school dance was a necessity. "Keep her out of trouble?"

Angel smiled. "You can count on it."

"Take care. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye, Daddy."

Hank finally left the room, and Angel walked over to the bed and took a seat.

"I think my dad likes you."

"Yeah." Angel stared at Buffy, confused. "I'm a little surprised by that actually."

"Yeah, me too. Daddy used to never like any of my boyfriends, even the nice ones. He was really strict too. I guess he mellowed out."

"Love can do that to a man."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't remind me. I can't believe my dad is marrying a younger woman. And what is _she_ thinking for that matter? She's six years older than me! She could be like, my big sister. Oh my god! She's marrying a man old enough to be _her_ _dad! _How crazy is that_?"_

"Almost as crazy as a 200-something-year-old vampire dating a teenage girl?" Angel said, smiling. "If you want to talk about age differences…"

Buffy smiled back at him. "That's different."

"I've lived as a vampire for 247 years. To say I'm older than you would be an understatement."

"Yeah, but it doesn't count."

"How so?"

"Because you look young."

"Miss Summers?" a nurse said, strolling into Buffy's room.

Angel recognized the nurse as the one who had previously kicked him out. He quickly turned away, hoping she wouldn't make him leave. But she paid no mind to him, obviously in a better mood considering there was no major fighting going on in the patient's room.

"As soon as we get your discharge papers ready, you'll be able to go home."

Buffy's jaw dropped, not sure if she had heard her right. "I can go _home?_"

The nurse gave her a smile. "You can go home. Dr. Drake took a look at your latest labs and he's discharging you. Of course, you'll want to take it easy for a couple of weeks and you'll need to come back for checkups, but otherwise you can continue recuperating at home."

"But I thought when he said I could go home soon, I thought he meant like, you know, a few days or something."

"No, you can go home tonight. Unless of course you'd like to stay one more night."

"No, that's okay!" Buffy tossed the covers aside and threw her legs over the bed. "I can be ready to go in five minutes!"

The nurse laughed. "Well you might want to sit tight. It could take a while to get your paperwork ready. I'll be back."

"Oh thank god!" As soon as the nurse left, Buffy hopped out of bed and walked over to the linen closet. "I'm so ready to get out of here!"

"Let me help you with that," Angel said, reaching for the clothes on the top shelf and handing them to her.

"Angel, can you stay and take me home?"

"Sure, I'll take you home."

"I'll be just a few minutes," she said as she walked into the bathroom to change.

"I'll wait right here."

* * *

It had taken an unbelievable amount of time for the nurse to get Buffy's discharge papers ready, but nearly an hour later, it was finally time to go home.

_Home._ Almost a foreign concept to Buffy now as the orderly pushed her wheelchair through the lobby. Her home would never be the same now.

"Buffy?"

Buffy looked up at Angel, seeing a questioning look in his eyes.

"Did you hear me?"

"What?"

"I asked if you were ready to go?"

Buffy looked around, realizing they were outside the hospital now. "Yeah." She was definitely ready to leave this place.

Angel offered his hand to help Buffy to her feet and thanked the orderly as he wheeled the chair back inside. Buffy held on to Angel's arm and followed him to the parking lot.

When they reached his convertible, Angel took Buffy's bag and placed it in the back seat. Then he opened the passenger door for her.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You drive a convertible?"

Angel laughed. "Nice huh? It's a '67 Plymouth Belvedere."

"You're a vampire, and you drive a convertible?" Buffy gave him a smile and got into the car.

"Well…it is black," he said with a crooked smile.

Angel closed the door behind her and walked around to the driver side. Once inside, he reached for his keys in his pocket and started the ignition.

"You ready to get out here?"

Buffy nodded. "Take me home, Angel."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Angel turned onto a familiar street. Revello Drive. Buffy noted that her neighbors still had that ridiculous looking gnome in their garden. At least some things remained the same, Buffy thought.

But when Angel turned into the driveway, things were suddenly not so familiar anymore. She immediately noticed the absence of her mother's car. _Totaled in the accident?_ Buffy held back her tears, not wanting to think about it anymore.

Buffy didn't realize the car had stopped until Angel was opening her door. He held out his hand and helped her out of the car.

"My bag."

"I'll get your bag." Angel closed the car door and reached to grab the bag from the back seat. He wrapped his free hand around Buffy and led her up to the front porch.

Angel opened the door, and Buffy took a deep breath as she followed him inside.

The house was still the same, just as she remembered it. It smelled the same. The floorboard still creaked on the second step. The furniture hadn't been replaced. Even her school pictures from years past were still on the wall.

But now that she was inside, she could see that the house was very different too. Instead of her mother's art magazines scattered about on the coffee table, there were candles, spell books, and other witch paraphernalia.

That's right, because Willow and Tara lived here now. Her mother was _gone._

"Buffy, you okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Where's Willow and Tara?"

"At the Magic Box. They'll be here soon. Can I get you something?"

Buffy shook her head no. "I think I just want to go to bed."

"Sure."

Buffy started up the stairs, but then turned around with a worried expression. "You won't leave me here alone, will you?"

"No, I won't leave you."

"Good."

"Come on, let's get you upstairs." Angel took her arm and guided her up the stairs. He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit overprotective. The last thing he wanted for was Buffy to fall on the steps and get another head injury.

Angel made his way to Buffy's bedroom. He placed her bag in the closet, but when he turned around, he realized that Buffy wasn't behind him.

"Buffy?"

Angel stepped back out in the hallway, wondering what was keeping her. "Buffy?"

She stood in the doorway of her mother's old bedroom, frozen. "It looks…the same."

Angel walked over to where Buffy stood and put his hands on her shoulders. "Willow and Tara stay in the guest room. They didn't want to disturb any of your mother's things, not until you were ready to go through them."

Buffy couldn't bring herself to walk through that door. Instead, she felt her legs give way, and she sank down to the floor and began to cry.

Angel sank down to the floor with her, holding her in his embrace as the sobs racked her small body. He then scooped her up and carried Buffy to her bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed and laid with her, and he held her as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A/N: So Buffy's FINALLY out of the hospital…yeah! I know, it was definitely time, but I thought it would be more realistic for the doctor to make her stay a while. Hey, not everyone is Faith! (Who can stay in a coma for a YEAR and hop out of bed like nothing went wrong, lol) I don't care if she's a slayer. Yes, she heals fast, but if she's bad enough to be in a coma for a year, I find it hard to believe her recovery could be _that_ quick. lol

Oh, in case you forgot…Faith is actually still in a coma in my story. I just brought up that scene from the show to illustrate how ridiculous it was lol.

Well, thanks for reading! Until 16! :)


	16. Lean On Me

Angel had been first to wake. He was glad he had the foresight to close the blinds the night before, because Sunnydale was obviously living up to its name today. He was stuck here for now, not that Angel minded. As far as he was concerned, it gave him an excuse to look after Buffy.

Angel looked down at the sleeping girl before him. Even in her sleep, she was just as beautiful. Angel slowly rose from the bed. He noticed the blanket had fallen to the floor, and feeling the air conditioner blast on him from the vent above, he didn't want Buffy to be cold. He picked up the blanket and wrapped her up to her shoulders, and fought the temptation to kiss her. He didn't want to wake her. Besides, Buffy needed to rest. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep last night.

Angel then slipped out of the bedroom unnoticed, leaving the door slightly ajar.

* * *

Something was tickling Buffy's nose. Still half-asleep, she swatted away whatever it was. Only now, something was tickling her cheek. Buffy's eyes snapped open, and only then did she realize who the tickling offender was: a black and white kitten.

"Where'd you come from?" Buffy asked, scooping up the kitten in her arms. She then vaguely remembered Tara mentioning a cat. Somehow she'd forgotten about it.

Now awake, Buffy sat up and took in her surroundings. At least she wasn't in the hospital bed. It was good to wake up in her own room, in her own bed. Although she wished she'd hadn't fallen asleep wearing the clothes from the night before. The door to her bedroom was cracked open with just enough space for a kitten to squeeze though.

"So that's how you got in," Buffy said as the kitten went about licking her paws.

Looking at the empty space beside her, Buffy realized Angel must have left last night, maybe sometime after she'd fallen asleep. She must have been really tired to not notice him leave. Buffy sighed, figuring it was too much to ask for him to stay the night anyway. At least she didn't wake up completely alone. She smiled and gave the kitten a little scratch underneath her chin, who began to purr from the attention.

Twenty minutes later, Buffy made it downstairs. Strangely enough, she thought she smelled cinnamon and bacon. Willow and Tara must be awake, she thought, and Buffy's stomach grumbled at the thought of food as she sauntered into the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway and almost couldn't believe what she saw. Angel hadn't left after all, and he was…_cooking_?

"Angel?"

Angel turned around, and Buffy swore that he actually smiled.

"Good morning."

"Are you making…_breakfast_?" she asked as she sat down at the barstool.

"I heard you moving around upstairs. Thought you'd be hungry soon."

"I didn't know you cooked."

Angel shrugged. "Needed a new hobby," he said, smiling. "Sometimes Cordelia stops at butcher's for me in the morning. It was only fair that I get breakfast for her too once in a while."

Buffy watched as Angel placed a few slices of French toast on a plate, and thought of what life must be like for Angel back in L.A. She was still getting used to the idea of him joining forces with Wesley and Cordelia of all people. Truthfully, it didn't surprise her that Angel would go on to do good things. But the fact that Cordelia helped him had been a shocker.

"How many slices do you want?"

"Just two for now."

Angel placed the plate in front of her and the platter of bacon between them so she could help herself. "Let me know if this doesn't taste right. I'd try it but my vampire taste buds leave a lot to be desired. Orange juice?"

"Yes, please."

Buffy grabbed the syrup bottle sitting on the counter and generously poured some over her toast. If it tasted as good as it smelled, then this would quite possibly be the best French toast she had ever had. She took her fork and speared a small bite. She had been right. It did taste good.

No, not good. It tasted _heavenly._

"How is it?" Angel asked, waiting for her response.

Buffy, mouth full, nodded with her thumb up.

Angel smiled. "It's good to see you eating again."

Buffy watched as he pulled up a barstool and sat on the other side, carefully sipping something in a mug.

"It's just coffee," he said, noticing where Buffy's gaze had been.

"Angel? Before I forget, I just wanted to say thanks."

"Oh, it was nothing, really. I just followed a recipe and Willow and Tara had all the ingredients—"

"No, I don't mean for breakfast. Well, I suppose I am grateful for that too. But what I meant was you being here for me last night. I'm sorry I cried like that on your shoulder. I just didn't want to be alone and all. Thank you for staying."

Angel reached across the table, touching her hand. "I told you I'd stay as long as you need me to. Whatever you need, just let me know."

Angel's hand returned to his side of the table, and Buffy mourned the loss of even that slightest touch. That was what she needed, but asking for that would have been too much. She had been upset last night. He had held her only to comfort her. It didn't mean anything at all, and Buffy had to remind herself that she and Angel weren't together anymore. But why had it felt so right?

"There is something I was thinking about," she finally said.

Angel looked up from his coffee. "What's that?"

"I was hoping…do you think that maybe tonight you could take me to the cemetery? I want to see my mother's grave."

Angel nodded. "Sure. I'll take you."

Buffy fought the urge to start crying again, and instead focused on the food in front of her. "Thanks. That would mean a lot to me."

* * *

Willow knocked on Riley's door. After waiting a moment with no response, she knocked again.

"Maybe he's not home?" Tara wondered aloud.

"No, he's here. His car is over there."

Willow knocked a third time, this time a little louder. "Riley?" Finally, she heard footsteps from inside the apartment.

Riley opened the door, having the appearance that he had just rolled out of bed.

"Hey, Riley. Tara and I were just here to pick up Buffy's things." Willow held up the box she was holding. He looked like he had forgotten.

"Oh. Right. Sure, come on in."

Riley led Willow and Tara into the apartment, and both women knew from the smell alone that the place was going to be a disaster.

"I'm sorry…I haven't had a chance to clean up."

Pizza boxes, empty beer cans, and soiled paper plates littered the coffee table in the living room. In the kitchen, dirty dishes were left to pile in the sink, and the garbage had probably not been taken out all week.

"How is she?"

"She's doing okay," Willow answered. "I think it'll be an adjustment not having her mom at the house, though. Angel brought her home last night and said she went straight to bed."

Riley flinched at the mention of the vampire, then turned away, hoping Willow hadn't seen the expression on his face. "Her clothes are in the bottom two drawers, and she has some more clothes in the closet. And uh…some things in the bathroom too."

Riley moved to the living room and sat down on the couch. He reached for the remote and turned the television on to the sports channel.

"You go ahead," Willow whispered to Tara. "I'll be there to help in a minute."

Tara nodded, then disappeared to the back of the apartment.

Willow set the box down on the floor and walked over to Riley. She joined him on the couch. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he responded, staring at the television screen.

Willow picked up the remote and turned it off. "No, you're not fine. Riley, this isn't you. You've let this place turn into a mess, and you look like you haven't even showered or gotten out of bed in days. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about? My girlfriend woke up from a coma and doesn't even know who I am. And instead of wanting to spend time getting to know me, she instead chooses to spend all of her time with _him_. Never mind the fact that he broke her heart last year. Oh, and by the by, he's a vampire and she's a slayer!" Riley let out a hysterical laugh. "The irony of it all, right?"

Willow frowned. "Buffy's just going through a rough time right now. She lost a year of her life. She's just trying to hang on to what's familiar. You just have to give her a little time."

Riley looked at Willow, and she felt her heart tug at the sadness on his face. Riley had been a good boyfriend to Buffy, and she sympathized for him.

"Did you know that Buffy talks in her sleep?" he suddenly asked.

Willow nodded, and couldn't help but smile as she thought of their days in the dorm together. "Yeah. She says some really bizarre things sometimes, but if you ask her about it in the morning, she can never tell you what she was dreaming about."

"I know what she was dreaming," Riley said, his voice growing softer. "There were times…after we would make love, Buffy would rest her head on my chest, put her arm around me, and she would fall asleep. And then she would say his name. 'Angel'. The first time it happened, I tried to ignore it, and I tried not to be upset. It's not like people can control their dreams, you know? But then it happened again, and again, and soon enough, it became quite clear to me. Buffy's still in love with him. Night after night, she would make love to me, then go to sleep and dream of him. And I can't help but wonder if she was thinking of him the whole time she was with me."

Willow thought of Buffy confiding in her, telling her about the dreams she often had of Angel. She kept her mouth shut.

"You know what's funny? I was so worried about her being on the rebound from Parker, that I didn't even see Angel coming."

"Did you ever say anything to her about it? About the dreams?"

Riley shook his head. "No. If I had said something about it, then she would have to admit it was true." Riley looked at Willow and gave her a pained expression. "I wasn't ready to let her go, Willow. I thought maybe if she spent enough time with me, that maybe one day she would feel the same way for me that she does for him. But no, it was always him. He was the one she loved."

"Riley, she loved you—"

"No. She tried to love me. She cared for me. But love? No. And I was too blind in love with her to realize it."

* * *

Buffy, having just showered, blow-dried her hair, and dressed, stepped into her bedroom and sat at her vanity.

It was nice to finally be back home. She hated the tiny bathroom at the hospital, and she hated its harsh, unforgiving lighting. At least at home, she could look at herself in the mirror and not think too many terrible things about herself. It had taken longer to heal this time around, but her bruises had finally faded. The incision from the surgery had healed up nicely, and Buffy was grateful the doctor did not shave too much of her hair. She wasn't sure if she could deal with losing her memory _and_ being bald. Okay, so there was a _tiny_ bald spot, but luckily her hair was long enough to cover it.

Buffy picked up her brush and ran it through her hair. It wasn't until she pushed her hair behind her ear that she noticed it. Her hand went to her neck, touching the scar. The skin around it felt tough. Two little circular points. Buffy knew what this was.

The scar looked old, so it couldn't have been from her recent attack, and it looked deep too. The master's scar had barely left a mark and had long since faded, but this scar was different.

_Drink me._

The memory flash was sudden, and Buffy moved her hand over the scar again. Had she asked Angel to bite her? No, that wasn't possible, except that she felt it was.

She closed her eyes, seeing it with perfect clarity now. Angel was biting her, and strangely enough, she had wanted him to. She even _liked it._

"Buffy? You okay?"

Buffy opened her eyes and stared at the mirror in front of her, her face the only reflection. She turned around and looked up at Angel. "Yeah, I'm fine. I…I think I just remembered something."

A smile came to Angel's face. "Buffy, that's great! What did you remember?"

"I remembered…this." Buffy's hand moved to her neck, showing him the scar.

The smile on his face fell, as if he were ashamed of it. "I was kind of hoping you wouldn't remember that."

Buffy stared at him, her eyes searching for answers. "Angel, what happened? My memory is sort of…fuzzy. But I think I asked you to drink me. I didn't imagine that, did I?"

Angel walked over to the bed and sat down. "No, you didn't imagine it."

Buffy stood up and moved to the bed, sitting beside him. She thought back to her memory flash again. It had been brief, but one thing had been clear. "You didn't want to do it. You were fighting it. So you weren't…" _Angelus, _she was going to say. "Why was I forcing you to do that?"

Angel looked down at his hands, unable to look her in the eyes. "Because I was sick."

"Sick?"

"Poisoned actually."

"_Poisoned?_"

Angel looked at Buffy, staring at him with confusion on her face. He supposed he'd have to tell her about this sooner or later, he just hadn't realized it would be this soon. "It was right before your graduation, before the big showdown with the mayor. That was when I was hit with an arrow. It was laced with some kind of toxin poisonous to vampires. I knew that whatever it was, it was killing me."

"Oh my god. Angel, who was it? Who did that to you?" Buffy had a sinking feeling she knew who, but she was hoping he'd prove her wrong.

"It was Faith."

"She tried to kill you."

"She was out of control."

"So you were sick, and I…forced you to feed on me?"

"I was dying, and there was only one cure. The blood of a slayer."

"I'm surprised I didn't bring Faith to you on a silver platter after what she did to you."

"You tried, but she got away. And we were running out of time. There was no other way."

"So I offered you me instead?"

"I didn't want you to, Buffy. I begged you not to. I was so afraid I'd hurt you…or worse."

"You didn't."

"I was told that when I was sick, I was delirious. I was out of my mind. If I hadn't been so sick, I wouldn't have taken so much from you. I would have been aware of what I was doing."

"Obviously you didn't take that much. I'm still here," Buffy said, smiling and trying to lighten the mood.

Angel looked at Buffy with a serious stare. "I _did _take too much. I almost killed you, Buffy. When I was finally aware of what was going on, and I saw you lying there…I've never been more scared than I was in that moment. If I hadn't got you to the hospital in time…"

Buffy placed a hand over his. "Hey, don't do this, okay? You're beating yourself up over something that wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault."

"I forced you to do it, Angel. I _wanted_ to save you. And I know I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to."

Angel reached out and touched the scar on her neck, running his fingers over the mark his fangs had left there. "I'm so sorry I did that to you."

Buffy moved his hand away from her neck and held on to it. "You don't have to apologize. Everything's okay now, alright? And don't feel guilty about doing that. I _forced_ you to. You didn't have a choice. And besides…this is going to sound strange. But I think I sort of…enjoyed it. I don't know why."

"You…enjoyed it?"

Buffy blushed slightly, wondering how in the world she'd explain this. "Well, not at first, obviously. But after that, it was like…" Buffy blushed again. "Well, it sort of felt like—"

"Sex?" Angel said with a grin on his face.

A small giggle escaped her lips. "Yeah. What exactly was that? I mean, I know what _that_ was, but what I don't understand is why it happened. I'm a slayer. I'm not exactly supposed to get turned on by a vampire bite."

"There's a thin line between pain and pleasure. Some people only feel the pain. And other times, it's a more pleasurable experience. Why it happens….I don't really know. It just…happens sometimes. Maybe it's the allure of the vampire, I don't know."

_The allure of the vampire. _More like the allure of one vampire in particular, Buffy thought. "So, I guess we're even now, huh?"

"Even?"

"I saved your life. And you saved mine. We're even."

Angel smiled at her. "Yeah, I suppose we are."

"Did I ever thank you for saving my life?" Buffy asked.

"You don't have to thank me."

"Yes, I do." Buffy wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Angel," she whispered. "Thank you for saving me."

Angel held her back just as tightly. "I'd do anything to protect you," he whispered back.

* * *

Riley stared at the picture on his nightstand. He picked up the frame, remembering it was a frat party he and Buffy had gone to. Someone had taken their picture as they sat together on the couch. Buffy sat in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck and a smile on her face.

They had been happy.

When did it all go so wrong?

_Why are you so good to me, Riley Finn? I don't deserve you…_

Riley took one last look at Buffy's smiling face before he threw the picture frame across the room. He watched as the glass shattered against the wall, and immediately regretted it. Smashing a picture wasn't going to bring Buffy back to him.

Riley sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He couldn't do this. He had to get out of here. It didn't matter that all of Buffy's things were gone now. There were still reminders of her _everywhere._

He'd sit on the couch and think of Buffy, and thought of the countless times they'd sat there watching a movie. Buffy inevitably would want to cuddle, but Riley would never mind.

The kitchen space wasn't much; only a bar with counter space really. But in his mind, he'd see Buffy standing against the counter and wearing nothing but one of his long t-shirts, raiding the refrigerator in search of a snack.

But it was the bedroom memories that haunted him the most. Buffy in his arms, Buffy in his bed…

Riley rose to his feet and headed to his closet to find his shoes and his weapons. A patrol would get his mind off these things for a while, and he certainly felt like killing something tonight.

* * *

There was no mercy to be had for the vampires that crossed Riley Finn's path that night. Walsh would probably be pissed if she knew he was out here on his own, being careless, reckless, and slaying them all rather than tagging them. But the hell with protocol. Tonight he was doing it _his way. _And what better way to let out his pent up frustrations?

He'd been staking out a nest of them since last night. They were hiding out in a crypt at Restfield Cemetery, and they were all unsuspecting. With word of the slayer indisposed, they'd all been off guard.

He'd kill them all tonight. Forrest and Graham would think he was crazy for daring to take them down with no backup, but he had a plan. He'd come armed and ready with tazors, stakes, and a few grenades he'd filched from the Initiative's vast arsenal supply.

Later, he watched as the crypt burned to the ground. It had gone up in a fiery explosion, and it had turned every single vampire hiding inside into dust.

It had been the rush he was looking for, but he still wanted more.

* * *

Angel reached into his pocket and felt the tip of the wooden stake he had hidden there. He wasn't looking for any trouble, but it was night, and they _were_ in a cemetery. It was a possibility. "If you see any vampires, you let me handle them. Understood?"

Buffy nodded. "That's fine. I'm not really up for slayage tonight anyway unless I have to."

"You won't, and you shouldn't. You're still recovering. You probably should have had Willow take you here earlier in the daytime."

Buffy tightened her hold on Angel's arm. "No, I wanted you to take me."

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I don't like for my friends to see me when I'm weak. I hate having to put on a brave face for them and act like I'm strong all the time. But with you…it's different. I feel like I don't have to hide when I'm with you."

"You never have to hide with me, Buffy. You can always tell me exactly how you feel."

They had stopped walking now, and Buffy realized why. They were at her mother's grave.

"Do you need me to give you a moment? Did you want to say something?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. I'm sure I said all I needed to say the last time. I just wanted to see where she was." Buffy kneeled down beside the grave and placed the fresh flowers she had brought by her mother's headstone. "I'm not surprised that I had her buried here."

"Why's that?"

"This is my favorite cemetery." Buffy started to laugh, as if she couldn't believe she said that. "Isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard? Only a slayer would have a favorite cemetery. That's crazy."

But Angel just smiled and kneeled down beside her. "No, I don't think it's crazy. I think this is a nice resting place for your mother."

"Was the funeral nice at least?"

"I didn't go. The funeral was during the day."

"Oh. I can't remember, but I feel like you were there."

"I didn't go to the funeral, but I did come to see you before. You didn't want to go to the funeral. I think you didn't want to go because you were afraid of having to accept that your mother was truly gone."

"No, I don't think that was it."

"What do you mean?"

"That's not why I was so upset. I think…I think I was driving. In the accident? I remembered something. I was the one driving, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were."

Buffy took a moment, letting it sink in. So her memory had been right. She wasn't just imagining it. "So it _is_ my fault."

"What? Buffy, no. It wasn't your fault at all. It was an intoxicated driver who ran the red light. It couldn't be avoided."

"No, you don't understand," Buffy said, trying to keep her composure. "It was my fault. I took a wrong turn. I shouldn't have even been there at that intersection, but I was. I took the wrong turn."

"Buffy—"

"It was my fault! It doesn't matter who delivered the final blow. I was the one who started it in the first place!"

Angel reached out and held her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Buffy, no, this was not your fault. You couldn't have known. These things happen, and we don't control them. It wasn't in your hands."

"But I—"

"No, don't you even think it again. Not your fault. You understand?"

Buffy nodded, and felt the dam burst as the tears she'd been holding back rolled down her cheek. She sobbed heavily, and Angel held her close, rocking her.

From behind the trees, Riley lurked, watching the vampire comfort the woman he loved. Riley unclenched his fists. He had wanted a fight, but it wasn't even worth it now. He wouldn't do that to Buffy.

Riley turned around and walked away, feeling deflated. He hadn't expected to see Buffy and Angel together tonight, and now that he had, he wished he hadn't.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, it's so sad and depressing! But Angel cooking her breakfast was nice, huh? And hey, how about that appearance from Miss Kitty Fantastico? LOL!

But yeah, I know Buffy's been really emotional lately, but who wouldn't be? She's got a lot of issues going on. But she's dealing, and she has Angel to help her. Meanwhile, yes, Riley is completely out of control. He's just raging though. This is also just about the last major Riley stuff. (I know that's very exciting for some of you to hear lol) He'll still be in the story, just not as much as he has been.

Until chapter 17!


	17. A Great Darkness

Angel closed the book he was researching and tossed it aside. "Well this is getting us nowhere. I feel like I've been reading the same book over and over."

Wesley looked up from his own book. "I know. And unfortunately, we don't understand what we're dealing with here, which makes the task at hand more difficult."

"Okay then, what do we know?" Cordelia asked, carrying a dry erase board on an easel into the living room.

"Where'd you get that from, Cordy?" Angel asked.

"From the Magic Box. I um…borrowed it."

"She found it in the storeroom," Wesley said.

"Well it was just sitting there and Anya said hardly anyone ever uses it. So, back to what I was saying…what do we know so far?" Cordelia uncapped the marker in her hand and stared at Wesley and Angel, ready to make a list.

"We know there were four warrior vampires that attacked Buffy, which means there's probably a master giving them orders," Angel said.

Cordelia wrote "warrior vamps" and "master vamp?" on the board. "Okay, what else?"

"We know the demon and vampire populations in Sunnydale have tripled," Wesley added.

"Lots of demons and vampires," Cordelia said, writing it the board.

"And they're planning to open the Hellmouth," Angel said.

"Right, because it wouldn't be an apocalypse in Sunnydale without some Hellmouth action." Cordelia wrote down "HELLMOUTH".

"And we also know that for whatever reason, the vampires and demons appear to be working together," Wesley said. "Which I've stated before is rather unusual."

"Why is it so unusual for vampires and demons to work together anyway?" Cordelia asked. "They're both evil, right?"

"Because they each think they're superior to the other," Angel answered. "Which brings me to my original theory. If they don't get along, then something or someone is obviously uniting them. And if there's a master, then it stands to reason he's the one in control. But according to these books, every master vampire that's been around in the last century is either dead or, for lack of a better phrase, wouldn't be caught alive associating with demons."

"Well maybe it's someone new," Cordelia offered. "Who says it has to be one of these ancient vampire masters? It could be just about anyone who's evil and on a major power trip."

Wesley was silent for a moment, pausing to consider the thought. "Cordelia's right."

Cordelia's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"It's a good theory, Cordelia," Angel said, smiling at her.

Cordelia smiled, happy to hear the praise. "Thanks. Maybe you guys are sort of rubbing off on me. I can come up with a good theory every now and then."

"You know what might really help us though?" Angel asked, turning to Wesley.

"What's that?" Wesley asked.

Angel glanced at Cordelia, and Wesley followed his gaze.

Cordelia looked at Angel and Wesley both staring at her. "What?"

"Had any visions lately?" Angel asked with a smile.

Cordelia sighed. "I told you guys already. I don't get visions on demand."

"You haven't had a vision in two weeks," Wesley said.

"I know. And this has been a nice little vision-free vacation for me. Look, if I could help you, I would, but the visions are out of my control, and it's nice to get a break from the migraines for a while. So let me just enjoy the quiet for once, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Cordelia," Angel said softly.

"It's okay. I just want you to understand what I go through."

"Looks like we're going to have to solve this mystery the old-fashioned way," Wesley said, taking another book from their pile. "Without the help from the Powers."

"If it wasn't so damn sunny outside I'd be out there," Angel muttered. "Two weeks and I still haven't come up with any good leads. Some good investigator I am."

"Well you've been a little preoccupied," Cordelia said. "I thought for a while there you were planning to move into the hospital."

"Yeah, I guess I have been distracted," Angel admitted.

"Perhaps it would help if you could recall your last vision again," Wesley said, turning to Cordelia. "Maybe there was some sort of clue we missed before. Do you remember anything about the vampires, Cordelia?"

Cordelia sat down, shaking her head. "No, I didn't see the vampires. I only saw Buffy."

"What about you, Angel? Is there anything else you remember about that night?"

Angel paused for a moment, recalling that dreadful night. "I was in the cemetery, and I was tracking Buffy. I hadn't found her, but I knew she was nearby." Angel caught the confusion on Cordelia's face. "I could smell her," he explained. "Then I saw them."

"The vampires?" Wesley asked.

Angel nodded. "I knew they were responsible for her attack. Her scent was all over them. I managed to take out one. Then two more put up a fight, and that was when I noticed her. I don't think I'll ever get that terrible image out of my mind."

"And then you killed the vampires and rescued Buffy," Cordelia said, finishing his story.

"Yeah. It wasn't until I reached Buffy that I realized the fourth had gotten away. At that point he was the last concern on my mind."

"I don't suppose you remember what direction he went, do you?" Wesley asked.

"No. But I do remember…"

"What do you remember?"

Angel turned to Wesley. "South. They were all heading south when I saw them. Which would be…towards the Hellmouth. I didn't realize that before. But it makes sense now. Maybe their hideout is somewhere nearby."

"Well perhaps we should continue our search there," Wesley said.

"When the sun goes down," Angel added.

* * *

Buffy scanned the phone list on the refrigerator. Her mother had always kept a list of important numbers attached there with a magnet, and apparently, she was continuing the tradition.

"Wow, that's a long phone number," Buffy said as she picked up the cordless and dialed. As she listened to the phone ringing, she raided the refrigerator for a snack. After a few rings, she finally heard a voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi, Daddy." Buffy moved the milk and orange juice aside, and seeing nothing appealing, closed the door. "No, nothing's wrong…Oh, is it late there? I'm sorry."

Hoping the freezer had a better selection, she opened the door and spotted a tub of ice cream.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm home now. They finally let me out."

Buffy took the ice cream out of the freezer and grabbed a spoon from the drawer.

"Yeah, the doctor says I'm okay. He just wants me to take it easy. I have to go back for a checkup on Friday though…No, it's no big. It's just a regular checkup…No, I'm okay, honest. No headaches. Except I might have one if I eat ice cream too fast."

Buffy sat on the barstool and took the lid off the ice cream.

"It's good hearing you too, Daddy. I'm sorry I woke you up…I'll let you go back to sleep…Okay, I'll talk to you later…Love you, too."

Willow walked into the kitchen as Buffy hung up the phone. "Talk to your dad?"

"Yeah, for a minute anyway. I sort of woke him up. Apparently it's after midnight in Barcelona."

Willow glanced at the clock on the microwave, noting the time. "Oh, right…I guess it is. Sorry. Maybe I should have realized that when you said you were going to call him."

Buffy dipped the spoon into the ice cream and sampled a quick taste. She was glad she was sitting down, because if not, her knees would have surely buckled. "Oh my god!"

Willow turned around, smiling. "What?"

"This ice cream! Oh my god. I think it's probably the best I've ever had." Buffy put another spoonful in her mouth. "Oh my god, that's incredible."

Willow eyed the tub of ice cream she was eating. "Oh yeah, cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip. That's good stuff. You were the one that hooked me on it."

"I was?"

"Yeah. You brought it home from the grocery store one day. Said you thought it looked good. You were right."

"Is that cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip?" Tara asked, walking into the kitchen.

"I got Tara hooked on it, too," Willow smiled.

Buffy looked at Tara, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I sort of ate out of container. There's not really much left."

"Yes there is," Willow said, opening the freezer. In the back behind a bag of vegetables, she pulled out another tub. "You can never have too much ice cream."

"I agree with that," Tara said as she went about retrieving some bowls from the cabinet.

Willow placed some spoons on the counter and opened the container of ice cream. "Good thing Xander's not here," she said.

"Why's that?" Buffy asked.

"More ice cream for us," Willow explained.

"Where is Xander?" Buffy asked. "Haven't seen him all day."

"At work. I think he's gets off soon though. He'll probably go over to the Magic Box after because Anya will be there. Ooo! You want go see the Magic Box? I just realized you haven't seen it yet!"

"As opposed to staying here at the house all day 'taking it easy' and going stir-crazy? Please! I'd love to go!"

* * *

"You're going to love this place," Willow said as she led Buffy down the sidewalk. "It has _everything_. Books and herbs and stuff for spells…"

"And even jewelry," Tara said, showing off her charm bracelet.

"And plus, people don't give us weird looks when we're researching like they did in high school. Not that many people actually went to the library back in high school except us, which is sad really. I think more people should appreciate the library."

Buffy smiled. "I can't wait to see it."

"Well here it is," Tara said, stopping and pointing to the building next to them.

Buffy went inside first, noticing the little bell that jingled at the top of the doorway.

"Hey, looks who's here!" Xander said, smiling brightly. "Hey, Buff!"

Buffy smiled. "Hey, Xander."

From the backroom, Giles and Anya emerged.

A smile came to Giles' face when he saw her. "Buffy."

"Hey, Giles."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay."

"We thought we'd bring Buffy over for a tour of the place," Willow said. "And maybe see if she'll remember something."

"You could buy something if you want," Anya said. "Our prices are very reasonable."

"She's not here to buy anything, An," Xander said.

Anya frowned. "Well she might. Cordelia did."

"So, this is it, huh?" Buffy said as she looked around. She wished she could remember something. _Anything._ She had been told she spent more time here than anywhere else, but despite that, Buffy could not remember.

She took a moment to walk around the store, browsing the items on the shelf. She could see why Willow loved it so much. The book collection was impressive, and the shelves were lined with a vast array of jars filled with a variety of things, some of which she wasn't sure she wanted to know what was inside.

Buffy wandered over to a small table with candles and baskets full of small trinkets on display. She picked up an amulet, examining it closely, then placed it back.

Xander followed her as she looked around. "Anything look familiar?"

Buffy looked up, noticing all eyes were on her. "No, I'm sorry. But I remember when this place was _Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet._ It sure looks a lot different." Buffy turned to Giles. "Good different. Willow was right. This place is pretty cool. It's got everything."

Giles smiled, just a little proud. The Magic Box was more successful than he ever imagined it would be, and he loved showing off his accomplishment.

"And I didn't even tell her about the best part," Willow said.

"Best part? There's more?"

"Follow me to the back room," Giles said. "There's something I'd like to show you."

Giles started walking towards the back, and Buffy followed him.

"Now of course, I don't intend for you to start back right away, but when you're ready, you can train here."

When she entered the training room, her jaw dropped. "Oh my god. I have a _training room_?"

Giles smiled. "Yes. Do you like it?"

"Giles, this is amazing! It's like my own personal gym." She turned to Giles and grinned widely. "This is _much_ better for training than the library."

Giles smiled in spite of himself. She was right on that point. "You have everything you need. A punching bag, pommel horse, tumbling mats, various weapons…"

"And your own personal dummy," Xander added, walking into the room. "Not me," he said quickly, realizing how that may have sounded. "I meant this guy." Xander indicated the dummy vampire used in training occasionally. "I made this for you. How do you like it?"

Buffy laughed. "I love it. Thanks, Xander." She wandered over to the far end of the gym, running her hand along the punching bag. It really was a nice space to work out.

"Perhaps after you've fully recuperated, we can resume our regular training schedule."

Buffy turned to Giles, frowning. "I have a regular training schedule?"

"Well, yes. We set aside some time every day to work on your slayer training."

"_Every day?_ What am I now, Super Slayer?"

"I think you were the actually the one who suggested it, Buff," Xander said, teasing.

"Xander's right. You approached me several months ago and asked if I could act as your Watcher again. And when I took over this place, I couldn't think of a better use for this room. We can certainly make some adjustments to the training schedule if you feel it's necessary."

"No, that's okay. I want to get back to whatever my normal routine is. And besides, I need to train. A group of vampires nearly killed me two weeks ago. When I see them again…I intend to be ready for them."

* * *

"Okay, had I _known_ we were going to be trekking through the _sewers_, I would have stayed at the mansion!"

Wesley turned around, catching the look of disgust on Cordelia's face. "Where did you think we were going, Cordelia?"

"Not the sewers!"

"Can you two keep it down?" Angel said. "I can't hear myself think."

"If you're going to complain this much, perhaps you _should_ stay at mansion," Wesley said, lowering his voice.

"Hey, I may not like the sewers, but I still want to help. And I know you two probably don't want to admit this, but I'm clearly the most important part of this group, even if it _is_ called _Angel Investigations._"

Wesley, as well as Angel, both turned to stare at Cordelia for a moment.

"Hello! The visions?"

"Which you've not had in two weeks," Wesley said, reminding her for the second time that day.

"And I told you I don't have control over that. But have you considered this? You wouldn't even be in these stinky sewers had it not been for me. I was the one that brought you to Sunnydale in the first place."

"It wasn't you, Cordelia," Wesley shot back, "It was Powers that—oh dear god!" Wesley jumped at the sight of a large rat that darted past his foot, nearly causing him to drop his flashlight.

"What's the matter?" Cordelia asked.

Angel looked back at Wesley with a raised eyebrow.

"A sewer rat," he explained. "He just startled me."

Cordelia's eyes grew wide. "_A rat_?"

"It's gone," Wesley said.

"Ugh! I _hate_ rats! Bugs I can handle…to a point. But rats? That's a different story!" Cordelia cringed at the thought of those beastly little vermin.

"Shh," Angel suddenly said. "I heard something," he whispered.

Cordelia and Wesley followed Angel down the sewer tunnels and turned the corner. Walking towards them was an unusual looking demon with an excess of skin and floppy ears. A bag was slung over his shoulder, and the strange demon smiled at them when he realized he was not alone.

"Hello there," he said in a friendly tone.

Angel was taken aback. He had been expecting trouble, but looking at this fellow, he didn't quite seem dangerous at all.

"Uh…hello," Wesley said hesitantly, being the first to speak.

"Don't see too many humans down here," he said, eyeing Wesley and Cordelia. "Especially with a vampire." He turned to look at Angel and studied him for a moment. "But you seem…different. You're not like the other vampires, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Angel said.

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," Wesley said, extended his hand.

"Clem," he said as he shook Wesley's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Cordelia. And the broody vampire over there is Angel."

"Look, Clem is it?" Angel asked, ignoring Cordelia's jab at him. "Maybe you can help us. We're looking for a group of vampires that have been causing some trouble lately. Maybe you've seen them?" Angel held up a picture of some warrior vampires he'd found in a book. "They look sort of like this."

Clem took the picture, frowning. "Do you mind if I ask why you're looking for these guys?"

"They hurt someone I care a lot about."

Clem handed the picture back to Angel and nodded. "Oh, I understand. A girl."

"Yeah, a girl. Have you seen them?"

"Yeah, I've seen them."

"Where?"

"Saw a few by the old high school a couple of nights ago."

"Near the Hellmouth?" Wesley asked.

"Right. I steer clear of them though. I'm not much of a fighter and the fact that they are concerns me. Most of the vampires and demons around here respect one another's space, or at least they used to. Lately, not the case. I've been kicked out of my home three times already. Every time I settle down in a new place, some demon crasher comes and tells me to get lost. I'm started to get a little annoyed with it all."

"What kind of demons?"

"No one friendly, I can tell you that." Clem leaned forward so that he could whisper. "Look, you all seem like nice people, so if I were you, I'd pack your bags and leave town. And take your girl too," he said to Angel. "I don't like what's going on around here. I just have a bad feeling about it."

Angel frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, for one, the population has been growing, but that's not so unusual. I mean, everyone likes to come to Sunnydale, right? But the strange thing is that they've all been acting so…unusual."

"What do you mean 'unusual'?" Wesley asked.

"Well, as if they're brainwashed for lack of a better word," Clem answered.

"Brainwashed?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. You know, like they're in one of those cults or something? They keep going on and on about the end of days, only they're celebrating it. And then there's all this talk about how they'll have free reign, about how Sunnydale will be theirs for the taking. I don't know what that means for the humans around here, but it can't be anything good."

"When are they saying this is going to happen?" Angel asked.

Clem shrugged his shoulders. "The heck if I know, but I'm not sticking around here to find out. I'm moving on. I hear San Francisco is real nice. Well, I better be on my way if I want to make the evening bus out of town. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

"Wait a second," Angel said, holding him back. "If you happen to remember anything else," Angel dug into his pocket, pulling out a calling card, "this is my card."

Clem took the card and studied it for a moment. "What is that? A lobster?"

"Just call my cell number if you remember anything else."

Clem nodded. "Sure. Well, it was nice meeting you folks. Whatever your doing…be careful." Clem waved goodbye and headed on his way.

"Well, now what should we do?" Wesley asked.

Angel stared down the tunnel, watching Clem until he was out of sight.

"Angel?" Wesley asked, getting his attention.

"End of days," he said.

Cordelia and Wesley exchanged looks.

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"I was just thinking about what Clem said. The 'end of days'. That's not the first time I've heard someone say that."

Wesley frowned. "Where did you hear it before?"

"The Mohra demon that I encountered last fall. He mentioned the same thing. He said the 'end of days' has begun, and that a great darkness was coming. I didn't understand it before, but now it's starting to make sense."

"Then explain it to me, because I'm still confused," Cordelia said.

"The great darkness he spoke of? I think it's now here in Sunnydale."

* * *

A/N: And so on that ominous note…I end this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it. I didn't plan on Clem making an appearance in the story, especially since he didn't even come around until season 6, but he suddenly appeared in the tunnel and I found a use for him lol.

Thanks for reading everyone! Until 18! :)


	18. Find Your Way

A/N: Another insanely long chapter…enjoy!

* * *

Angel tossed and turned in his sleep.

_The Mohra demon appeared before him, wielding his sword._

"_The end of days has begun and can't be stopped!"_

"_Why are you here, lower being?" asked the male oracle._

"_The Mohra demon said the end of days had begun. That others were coming, soldiers of darkness. I need to know if he was telling the truth."_

_Buffy fell to the ground._

"_What happens to the Slayer when these soldiers come?"_

_"What happens to all mortal beings," said the female oracle. "Albeit sooner in her case."_

"_Angel?" Buffy whispered before closing her eyes._

_"She'll die? Then I'm here to beg for her life."_

Angel's eyes snapped open, feeling restless after the dreams that haunted him all night.

Reaching under his pillow, he pulled out her picture. He smiled as he traced the outline of her face. This had always been his favorite picture of Buffy.

"You're okay," he whispered. "You're going to be okay now."

* * *

The most frustrating thing about not having her memory was having to rely on others to fill in the blanks. The problem was there were too many blanks to fill, and not everyone was willing to enlighten her. They didn't want to hurt her. Buffy could understand that. From what she had gathered, the past year of her life had not exactly been the greatest.

But despite it all, Buffy _wanted_ her memory back. A whole year from her life was completely gone. And even when her friends were willing to help her fill in those blanks, she hadn't a clue as to what kinds of questions to ask. She couldn't remember college. She couldn't remember last summer. She didn't even remember her own prom, and she had so been looking forward to it. Now it was gone, erased from her memory. And Buffy just wanted it back.

It was at this moment that it occurred to Buffy. There _was_ a way she could find out what had happened in her life, and she didn't need to rely on anyone else except herself.

She had a diary.

It was perfect. She'd always kept a diary. Well, at least since she had first started liking boys anyway. True, she didn't always have time to write in it when slaying, or life, became hectic, but it was better than nothing. Her friends could withhold information, but no one could deny her reading her own personal diary.

Now all she needed to do was to find it.

Buffy searched her bedside drawer where she usually kept it, but it wasn't there.

_Maybe it's at Riley's_, she thought.

"No, it has to be here." Buffy searched underneath her mattress. Even though she had lived at Riley's, her bedroom still had most of her things. Surely her diary was around here somewhere. She doubted it was under the mattress, but it was worth a shot. It had been an old hiding place for it at one time. Naturally, the diary did not turn up.

The closet was the next logical place to look. Buffy opened the door and dragged her trunk out. It was mainly used to keep her stash of weapons, but she kept a few personal items in there as well. Buffy rummaged through the trunk and sighed. There were several diaries in the trunk alright, but they were old diaries. Certainly not the one she was looking for.

"It's at Riley's," Buffy said as she started to close the trunk. "Unless…" Buffy opened it back up. A box had caught her attention, and she wondered if maybe, just maybe, she'd put her diary in there.

It was a photo box. She probably intended to put these pictures in an album, but for some reason, she'd never got around to it.

She realized why when she saw the pictures.

They were all pictures of her and Angel. Some of him alone. Some of them together. Most of them had been taken before the birthday that changed everything. Buffy sorted through the pictures, seeing herself as a young sixteen-year-old, so happy in love, and who had no idea what was going to come next.

Another envelope in the box had more recent pictures, or as recent as a year anyway. Buffy smiled as she realized she hit the jackpot. _Prom. _But apparently Angel was only in two of the pictures. She wondered why she hadn't insisted on taking more.

"Hey, watcha doing?" Willow asked, poking her head in the doorway.

Buffy put the pictures back into the box and closed the lid. "Just looking for something."

"What are you looking for?"

"My diary. I started a new diary last year. I'm hoping I still have it but I can't seem to find it anywhere." Buffy placed the box back into the trunk and closed it back up. "It's not here. It must be at Riley's."

"It's a blue book with butterflies on the cover, right?"

Buffy turned to face Willow, her eyes bright. "Yes! Yes, that's it! Have you seen it?"

"Yeah. I know exactly where it is."

Downstairs, Willow found the boxes she had brought back from Riley's apartment the other morning. She dug through the boxes, trying to remember which one she had placed it in. "Here it is," Willow announced, holding up the diary. "It was in your dresser drawer. I just threw it in with the rest of your clothes."

Buffy took the diary from Willow eagerly. "Oh, Willow! Thank you! You have no idea what this means!"

Buffy opened the diary, silently praying that she had at least wrote in it often. She was relieved to see pages and pages full of her cursive writing as she quickly flipped through it. "It seems so strange. The last time I remember seeing this, most of these pages were blank."

"Are you sure you want to read it?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm sure. I have to know what happened to me last year and who else better to tell me than myself? Besides, maybe I'll read something that'll trigger a memory. I think I'll go upstairs and read some now."

"I hope it helps, Buffy. Hey, before I forget, I was going to ask you something. I was thinking that maybe you'd like to go to see the UC Sunnydale campus this afternoon? If you feel up to it. Do you want to go? Maybe you'll recognize something familiar."

Buffy nodded. "Sure. That sounds like fun."

* * *

Although Buffy had filled up about three-fourths of her diary, she was disappointed to learn that it didn't help as much as she first thought. She read nothing that jogged any sort of memory.

She'd written a rather long entry about her breakup with Angel and his leaving town. It explained a few things, but after that, there were weeks in which she didn't write anything at all. Or if she did write, it wasn't much.

One entry was only a sentence long:

_I miss Angel._

Apparently she'd been too heartbroken to write much, or too busy slaying. Maybe both.

She supposed she should be angry at Angel, but it was hard to be angry at someone she loved so much.

Buffy closed her diary and sighed. Hopefully her tour of UC Sunnydale would trigger at least _some_ recollection of her missing year, and it'd be nice if it could at least be a happy memory.

* * *

"Well here it is," Willow announced, holding her arms out. "UC Sunnydale!"

Willow and Tara smiled at her, and Buffy knew what they were both thinking. They were hoping something looked familiar to her.

It didn't.

"It looks so…unfamiliar," Buffy said with a frown.

"Oh no, don't get discouraged!" Willow said. "We'll walk around campus and see if something jogs your memory, okay?"

Buffy nodded, her smile returning. "Okay."

"There's The Grotto," Tara said, pointing to a nearby coffee shop. "Really good coffee."

"There's an on-campus coffee shop?" Buffy asked in amazement.

"Coffee's a very important part of the college experience," Willow explained.

Buffy laughed. "I guess that's true."

"So nothing looks familiar?" Tara asked. "Nothing at all?"

"No. About the only thing about this that looks familiar is that this looks like every other college campus in America."

"Oh, that building over there?" Willow pointed. "That's where you dusted Sunday and her gang."

"Sunday?"

"This really bitchy vamp that was bothering you the first week of school. She stole all your stuff out of the dorm. She even took Mr. Gordo."

"No wonder I dusted her. Nobody lays a hand on my stuffed pig."

"Yeah, freshman year got off to an interesting start."

"We have English class in that building," Tara said, pointing over in the direction of a huge brick building.

"Oh, and there's the library!" Willow said enthusiastically. "Want to go see?"

Buffy smiled. "I'm glad to see your love of libraries hasn't changed, Will. Sure, give me the grand tour."

Once inside, Buffy gazed around in awe, surprised a library could have so many books. "Wow, this place is—"

"Huge, I know!" Willow said.

"I was going to say big but, yeah, huge is good too."

"Kind of makes the old high school library look sad, huh? But don't tell Giles I said that. I don't want to hurt his feelings. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter now since he has the Magic Box."

"Oh, shoot, the Magic Box," Tara suddenly said. "I'm sorry, I have to go. I told Anya I'd help out in the shop for a while so that she can run some errands. Catch you two later?"

"Yeah, sure. We'll see you when you get home," Willow said.

Tara gave Willow a quick kiss and waved to Buffy. "See you, Buffy. Enjoy the rest of the tour. Hope you remember something."

"Thanks, Tara."

After giving Buffy a rather extensive tour of the campus library, Willow looped her arm around Buffy's and led her outside. "Well, let's see. You've seen the library. You've seen a few buildings. What else can I show you around campus?"

"Hmm…could you show me the dorms?"

"Dorms! Yes! What better place for you to see here? It's on the other side of campus so we have a long walk ahead of us."

"That's okay. I'm an avid walker."

They passed a few more class buildings on the way to the dorms, and Willow pointed out every one of them. To Buffy, they all looked the same to her. She couldn't tell one classroom building from another.

"And that's where we had psych class," she said, pointing to another one. "Oh, and do you see that building behind it? Behind the trees? That's Lowell House."

"Lowell House?" Buffy paused for a moment, trying to think but drawing a blank. "That sounds familiar. Why does that sound familiar?"

"That's where the Initiative is! Buffy, you remembered something!"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I didn't remember. It just, like I said, sounded familiar."

"Well I think familiar's a start. Oh, and there's another fraternity house back there. The Alpha Delta House." Willow pointed somewhere behind Lowell House. "You can't really see it from here. We went to a Halloween party there. Pretty freaky stuff."

"Yeah, I saw the pictures. I can't believe I dressed up like Little Red Riding Hood."

Willow laughed. "You were cute!"

"Who did you dress up as?"

"Joan of Arc."

"Cool."

"Well, we're here. Stevenson Hall."

"This is our dorm building?"

"Yep, this is it. Want to go check it out?"

"Might as well."

Buffy followed Willow as she led her inside. "Pretty quiet."

"Yeah, I guess because it's summer. But looks like a few students are staying here. Summer classes I guess. Here, up the stairs. Our room was on the second floor. Room 214."

When they reached room 214, Willow knocked.

"I don't think anyone is in there, Will."

Willow tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Let's hope not." Willow waved her hand in front of the knob. "_Expositus_."

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Willow grinned proudly.

"Wow. Look at you with the mega Wicca skills."

"That's a new spell I was working on!"

"So we're breaking in?"

"We'll just have a quick look around. Here it is." Willow opened the door all the way. Other than the furniture, the room was empty, and the walls looked oddly bare without posters.

"This was your side of the room."

Buffy walked around the room, hoping to remember something. Anything really. She peeked into the closet and checked things out. She looked out the window to see the view.

"Anything?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No. A big fat nothing."

"Don't push yourself. You'll remember."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"Oh, did you still want to stop by the registrar's office?"

"Yeah. I can get a transcript there, right?"

"Sure, I think so. Come on, let's go."

Buffy took one more look at the room before she closed the door. She had hoped seeing it would help her remember, but apparently it wasn't going to happen today.

On the way back, Willow pointed out a few more places on campus.

"I guess the vampire population on campus isn't so bad," Buffy said. "With you know, the Initiative and well, me."

"You'd think that would be the case, but actually, it's just as busy as the rest of Sunnydale. I guess something about college students out all hours of the night. They make themselves easy targets."

"At least we're not on a Hellmouth here."

"True."

"Willow!"

Willow turned around at the sound of someone calling her name. Across the courtyard, a girl was waving at her.

Willow waved back. "That's one of my friends from Wicca group. I'm going to go say hello. Do you want to go get your class list and I'll catch up?"

"Sure. Just point me in the right direction."

"Wiesman Hall," Willow said, indicating somewhere to Buffy's left. "Over there. You can't miss it."

"Okay, thanks."

Buffy turned around and walked in the direction Willow had showed her, only to realize there were several buildings over there. "Wait, Willow, which one—" But Willow was already out of earshot. "Is Wiesman Hall?" she asked, finishing her sentence.

Buffy pulled out her campus map from her purse, grateful she remembered to bring it. Oddly enough, she felt like this wasn't the first time she struggled to find this building.

"Wiesman Hall…Wiesman…that can't be right." Buffy turned the map sideways, looked at the group of buildings, then looked at her map again. Her map didn't seem to match anything at all. "_Can't miss it_," she muttered, mocking Willow. She folded the map up and walked in the general direction of the buildings. Maybe she'd get lucky and stumble upon it.

Over by the fountain, Buffy spotted a few guys milling around, chatting. They seemed to know what was going on. Maybe she should ask one of them. Buffy shrugged her shoulders. Worth a shot. Besides, it wasn't as if anyone else was around here. This campus seemed to be a dead zone, in the non-vampire-nobody-around sense anyway.

"We'll catch you later." Two of the guys started walking away, waving goodbye to the third guy.

"Later, man. Oh, and don't forget! Nine o'clock!"

"We'll be there!"

Buffy hesitated for a moment, then decided to go for it. She imagined this must be what it felt like to be a freshman, and she was just going to have to suck it up and ask for directions.

"Excuse me?"

The young man turned around and oddly, looked surprised to see her. "Buffy?"

Buffy was surprised herself, not expecting him to know her name. "Do you know me?"

The man looked at her with a look of confusion on his face. "Of course I know you, Buffy. Is this some kind of joke or something?"

"What? No. I'm sorry. Maybe I should start over. I'm sort of…lost. I shouldn't be, but see, I was in this accident. And unfortunately, I seem to be having a little memory loss. Actually more than just a little. Anyway, I saw you here and I was going to ask for directions considering I have no clue as to how to get around campus. So…can you help me?"

"So wait…you don't remember me?"

Buffy shook her head. "Sorry. There's actually a lot of people I don't remember."

"You have _no idea_ who I am?"

Buffy shook her head again. "No."

The man smiled. "Well I can fix that problem." He offered his hand for her to shake. "I'm Parker Abrams. Now you know me."

Buffy gave him a smile back and shook his hand. "Hi."

"I can't believe this. I heard someone mention you got banged up in some kind of accident, but I didn't think it was serious."

"I was in a coma for six days."

"Are you _serious_? Wow. Well I have to say…for someone who just got out of the hospital, you look _amazing_."

Buffy shrugged it off. "It's really no big. I was just sleeping."

"And now you have no memory? That's like…that's crazy. Did you actually wake up and not know who you were?"

"No, not exactly. I know who I am fortunately. I didn't lose all of my memory. I just seemed to have blanked out the last year of my life."

"You can't remember _anything _from freshman year?"

"Nope. And some of high school too. I can't even remember my own graduation."

"That's unbelievable!"

"I know, right? Like something out of a movie! At least I don't have to worry about that chemistry final anymore. I suppose there's a silver lining somewhere."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I can't remember much of last year either. Of course, alcohol might have had something to do with that."

Buffy laughed at his joke, and Parker couldn't help but notice it. He paused for a moment and considered his options. Buffy was hot. No question about that. It was one of the things that attracted him to her in the first place. And yeah, she was the clingy type, but damn if she hadn't been one hell of a good lay.

And she couldn't remember a thing.

She didn't even know who he was.

It had to be his lucky day. He was suddenly very glad he decided to take summer classes.

"So can you help me find Wiesman Hall? I need to get to the registrar's office. I'm trying to get a list of my classes so I'll actually know what I took last semester. But this map is so confusing. I can't believe I need a campus map. I should know this place."

"You don't need a map to find Wiesman Hall. I can tell you exactly where it is."

"Really?"

"Sure. Do you see that building right over there next to the parking lot?" Parker pointed somewhere behind Buffy's shoulder.

"Yeah."

"That's it."

Buffy looked at her map again, then at the building. "Oh. Well that was obvious."

"I think you were looking at the map upside down."

Buffy laughed. "Well, thanks a lot for your help…I'm sorry, what was your name again? I know I should remember. You _just_ told me."

"Parker."

"Parker. Right. So how is it that we know each other? Did we have class together or something?"

"Yeah, we had class together, and we hung out a few times. Hey, I'm actually going to a party tonight. Over at Mercer Beach, you know the place? Should be a blast. You wouldn't by any chance be interested in going, would you?"

Buffy gave him a smile. "That sounds like fun, but I just got out of the hospital. I'm supposed to be taking it easy."

"No problem, that's cool. Maybe some other time?"

When Buffy hesitated, Parker had another idea. "Tell you what. I have some free time right now. How about I walk you to the registrar's office, you get what you need, and then I'll take you on a personal tour of our fair campus. I'd hate to see you get lost again."

Buffy gave him another smile. "Thanks. That's really nice of you, but actually, I already did the tour thing. I'm just waiting for Willow. Oh speaking of Willow, there she—"

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" Willow demanded, pointing her finger at Parker. "You leave her alone, Parker Abrams!" Willow pulled Buffy aside. "Is he bothering you, Buffy?"

"No, he's not bothering—"

"Relax, Willow. I wasn't bothering her. She said she was lost. I was just helping her find her way."

Willow glared at Parker. "Oh don't you give me that! I know what you were doing! You think just because Buffy can't remember you get a free pass, huh? You think it's okay to talk to her? Well you can think again! Just go away, Parker!"

Parker rolled his eyes. "You know what? I was having a good day. I don't need this right now. I'm glad you're out of the hospital, Buffy." Parker glowered at Willow as he walked away.

"Willow, why did you do that? He was being nice and—"

"Yeah, nice because he wants to get in your pants. He's a jerk, alright? Just stay away from him."

"He said we used to hang out. What did he do that was so awful?"

"He was a jerk to you and that's all you need to know. Now come on, let's go and get your transcripts. The registrar's office closes early during summer session."

Buffy, realizing that was all Willow was going to say on the matter, decided to let it go and allowed her to lead the way. She glanced over her shoulder one last time, watching as the mysterious Parker Abrams walked away. She made a mental note to read her diary later on, hoping to get some answers that way.

Willow showed Buffy the way to the registrar's office, then excused herself to run to the bathroom.

"Is there anyone else I need to worry about?" Buffy asked before she rushed off.

"No, you're fine. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay."

Buffy turned and looked at the signs on the wall. She quickly found the one for the registrar's office and breathed a sigh of relief. At least it was easier to find once she was inside.

The receptionist at the front desk looked up at Buffy as if she was annoyed with being disturbed. "Can I help you?"

"Uh...hi. My name is Buffy Summers. I'm a rising sophomore here. And this is going to sound weird, but I can't remember the classes I took the last two semesters."

"You can't remember?"

"Right. You see, I was in an accident. I have amnesia believe it or not."

The receptionist looked liked she didn't believe it.

"Anyway, I was just wondering if you could print off a list of the courses I've taken so far?"

"You can get that information online, honey."

"Okay, but I don't know how to do that."

The lady sighed. "You go to UC Sunnydale's website, you click on the link for student login, type in your user name and password, and you should be able to find what you're looking for from there."

"I don't know what my user name is."

"It's your initials and the last four digits of your social."

"I don't know what my password is either."

"There's a link underneath the login for recovered passwords. It sends to your email."

"What's my email?" Buffy asked, getting frustrated. She wished she had thought to ask Willow for help with this instead.

"You really don't remember anything, do you?"

"I told you. I have amnesia. Totally blanked out the last year. Believe me, I wish I was kidding. Can't you just print something out for me here?"

The receptionist sighed, as if she realized she was actually going to have to do some work today. "Do you have your student ID?"

"Yeah, I think so." Buffy dug into her purse and grabbed her wallet. There was a UC Sunnydale ID card inside that had a slightly worse photograph than her driver's license. Buffy took the card out and showed it to the receptionist.

She examined the card and handed it back to her. "Okay, wait for here for a moment. Let me talk to the girl who does the transcripts."

"Okay, great. Thank you."

While she waited, Buffy paced around the lobby area. A bulletin board caught her attention. There were so many flyers tacked on it that there was hardly a spot left uncovered. There were all kinds of flyers: Roommates Wanted. Campus Activities. Upcoming Rallies. Bands at the Bronze. Lost and Found Pets.

With so many flyers, Buffy wondered why UC Sunnydale didn't splurge for a second bulletin board. Apparently everyone on campus wanted to be heard.

When the front door opened and slammed shut, Buffy turned around out of habit and smiled. She saw a familiar face, or a semi-familiar one anyway.

"Riley?"

Riley continued on his way. Apparently he hadn't heard her.

Buffy ran over to him to catch up. "Riley!"

Riley stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.

"Hey. You didn't hear me calling you?"

"Buffy. I…I didn't expect to see you here."

"Willow was giving me a tour of the campus, and I'm here now to pick up a list of my classes."

Riley nodded, but his attention seemed to be focused elsewhere.

"You didn't come to the hospital the other day."

"Yeah, well, I've been busy. Summer session and all," Riley explained.

Riley shifted on his feet and his gaze wandered, as if he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

Buffy frowned, sensing his change in mood. This didn't seem like Riley at all. Or at least, not the Riley she had gotten to know for the past few days anyway. "Riley, are you mad at me?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. You just seem so…abrupt with me."

"Well I'm kind of busy right now, Buffy. I need to get to the copy center before they close. Professor Walsh needs these by tomorrow." Riley waved some papers he held in his hand.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Look, now's just not the best time."

Riley _was_ mad. He hadn't come out and said it, but Buffy knew. "Are you upset about me moving back to the house? Is that it? Because I thought Willow talked to you. I just need some time—"

"Buffy, why don't I just make it easier for both of us? This thing between you and me? It's over, alright? It's not going to work out. I think we both know it, and we both know why. So maybe we should start putting some distance between us."

Buffy was taken aback by his attitude. She'd never seen him upset. He had always been so nice before. "But…but I thought we were friends."

Riley looked Buffy in the eye, practically the first time he made eye-contact with her at all during this conversation. "I can't be _just your friend_, Buffy, and I'm through with being second best to you."

"Miss Summers?"

Buffy turned around to see the receptionist back at her desk. When she turned around to speak to Riley again, he was already halfway down the hall.

"Miss Summers?" the receptionist repeated, and Buffy realized she'd better not keep the woman waiting.

"Thank you," she said, taking the printout from her and walking back to the lobby to find Willow.

Willow found her first. "Hey, did you get your class list?"

"What? Oh, yeah."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I just ran into Riley."

"Really? I didn't see him."

"He was in a hurry. I think we just officially broke up."

* * *

Willow peeked into Buffy's room, seeing her laying on the bed with her nose in a book. She took a quick glance at the cover, recognizing the blue butterflies on the cover.

Her diary.

Willow knocked softly on the door, getting Buffy's attention. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Tara just ordered a pizza. Are you hungry?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I could eat."

Willow stepped into the room and sat down on the bed. "Are you okay? You say you're okay, but I just wanted to check again, because that's what best friends do, you know?"

Buffy smiled. "I'm fine, Willow."

"You looked…I don't know, upset about it earlier."

"I wasn't really upset about us breaking up, even though maybe I should be. I guess I'm just…I don't know, confused. He seemed so angry about it."

"He's really a good guy, Buffy. I'm sure he didn't mean to be angry with you. He's just angry at the situation, and he can't help that. He loves you."

"But I don't love him."

"How's the reading?" Willow asked, changing the subject.

Buffy closed her diary and turned to Willow. "Was I really that hung up on Parker Abrams?"

"Oh, I see you got to that part, huh? Yeah, he really messed you up for a while."

"Look at this!" Buffy reopened her diary and flipped through the passage she had just been reading. "Pages and pages of me moping and pining for him. He's such a jerk! Why did I even care?"

"Because, Buffy, you were trying so hard to move on. And you thought he really liked you."

"Yeah, but I didn't have to sleep with him on practically the first date. I can't believe I did that."

"Well don't feel too bad about that. You're not the first notch on his bedpost, that's for sure. Parker Abrams has a way of charming the pants off any girl who shows the slightest interest in him. He even tried to hit on me once. Clearly I wasn't interested though."

"I feel so embarrassed. All this time I was shocked to think of Riley and I having that sort of relationship. I couldn't fathom sleeping with anyone other than Angel. And now I learn Riley wasn't the only one. Apparently I've been getting around. Is there anyone else on campus I've slept with?"

"Don't worry, it was just those two."

"Thank god."

"Look, don't think about that poop head Parker anymore."

Buffy laughed.

"See! I got a smile out of you!"

"I wrote that in here somewhere," Buffy said, flipping through her diary.

"Well that's what he is. And that's what he'll always be. Poop Head Parker. But it's over, and you learned from your mistake."

"Never sleep with a guy unless you're sure his intentions are real. Got it." Buffy smiled. "I suppose there is a bright side to all of this though."

"What's that?"

"That I can't remember any of it. At least having amnesia is good for something."

* * *

Every star in the sky had to be out tonight, and Buffy sat outside her bedroom window on the roof, gazing up at the beauty. When she looked down, Angel was climbing up. She hadn't heard him at all, but then again, he was sneaky like that.

"Hey," he said to her, smiling.

"Hey. You know, you don't have to sneak around here anymore."

"Old habits. Besides, I didn't want to wake up anyone. I just wanted to come over and check on you. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

Angel moved to sit beside her. "Are you really fine?"

Buffy turned to Angel. "It's hard. Just trying to make it one day after the next? I don't know how to do it."

"It'll get easier. You'll find your way."

"Riley and I broke up," Buffy suddenly said. "Officially, anyway."

Angel hated to admit it, but he'd been glad that Riley hadn't been hanging around much lately. He knew it was wrong to feel that way, especially since Riley did actually care for her, but he couldn't help it. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, don't be. It was probably bound to happen sooner or later. I'm not sad about it or anything, even though I suppose I should be. I guess our relationship wasn't strong enough to overcome all of this. I guess we just weren't meant to be."

"You'll find someone who is."

"That's the problem. I already found him."

Buffy's gaze locked with his, and her meaning was clear to him.

"Buffy, I—"

"No, don't say anything, okay? Just don't. I'll have you any way I can get you, and if that just means that you'll be my friend and you'll sit here outside my window and talk to me, then I'll take it." Buffy turned away and stared at her neighborhood. "You know what's funny?"

"What's that?"

"I feel like I should be out there. How crazy is that?" Buffy laughed to herself. "I spend every night out here fighting the forces of evil, and it almost killed me. And now the one time someone tells me to take a break from it—"

"You find it hard to deny your calling."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah. Something like that. I feel like I've been cooped up for way too long. I'm almost itching for a slay."

"Not until you've completely healed," he warned.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to go out there and do something stupid. After what happened…" Buffy turned to Angel, a look of apprehension on her face. "Whatever's happening out there…this is bad isn't it?"

"Just an impending apocalypse is all."

"Right, because we don't have enough those," she said sarcastically. "I guess there's only one thing left to do." Buffy met Angel's gaze and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Get ready. I have to save the world again."

"You don't have to save it alone."

"Angel…" She stared at him, forgetting what she was going to say. Angel was giving her that all too familiar look, the look that said he was about to kiss her. And slowly, he inched closer to her…

"I should go," Angel suddenly said, moving away abruptly.

"Yeah," Buffy said, shifting her gaze and trying to hide her disappointment. "See you tomor—" she started to ask, but when she turned around, he was already gone.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, Angel needs to get his act together. I promise he will eventually! But as much as I want Buffy and Angel to get back together, rushing it wouldn't make much sense. As tortured as Angel was about his decision to break up in the first place, he wouldn't take the decision to get back together lightly either.

Until 19…thanks for reading :)


	19. How Do I Love Thee?

A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter out. My muse has been a bit fickle as of late…enjoy!

* * *

That had been close. Too close.

Angel stood against the wall of the house and out of sight, listening to the sound of Buffy's window closing above.

_He'd almost kissed her._

He'd almost kissed her…and he had wanted to.

Angel sighed, mentally kicking himself. It was hard trying to do the right thing when the temptation was always there. It had been the reason he'd moved to L.A. in the first place. Step one: remove himself from the temptation. Step two: keep his distance.

So far, he hadn't been so good with that latter step. Or the first one for that matter.

He'd known coming to Sunnydale would bring those old feelings to surface, but he couldn't forget the real reason he was here. Looking up, he watched as Buffy's shadow moved past the window. She would be safe tonight, and he intended to make sure she stayed that way.

* * *

_Sonnets From the Portuguese_ was laying on her bed, and Buffy picked up the book again. She'd been reading it before deciding to sit outside for a while. It seemed strange that Angel had given this to her over a year ago for her 18th birthday, and yet, it felt like it had only been months.

Buffy crawled into bed with the book and flipped through the pages to find her favorite poem. While Buffy had never been much for reading, she made an exception for this book.

She remembered reading a few of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry in English class, but the lessons had often been boring. Rather than explaining what the poetry was about, her teacher drilled the mechanics of sonnets and iambic pentameter instead, which took all the fun out of it.

Angel had been a much better teacher, explaining the meaning behind the words, as well as the history of the poet, which read like a Victorian love story. Elizabeth, whose father had forbidden her to marry, kept her courtship with Robert Browning a secret. The two exchanged many love letters before secretly eloping. After marrying, Robert whisked her away to Italy, where they lived happily together for many years thereafter. She'd written beautiful poetry about love, and more often, her intense love for Robert.

It reminded her of her own intense feelings for the man she loved.

Buffy soon felt her eyes grow heavy with sleep. She turned to the inside front cover and smiled, running her finger across the one word inscription in Angel's 18th century handwriting.

_Always_

Buffy sighed, feeling her heart ache. She placed the book on the nightstand and saw Mr. Gordo's smiling face staring back at her. Buffy picked up the stuffed pig and held him in front of her. "I know he loves me, so why does he keep fighting it? Why can't Buffy have her 'happily ever after' too?"

Mr. Gordo continued to smile.

Even if the pig could reply, she doubted he would know the answer to that question.

Sighing again, Buffy reached over and switched off the lamp. She then closed her eyes, clutching Mr. Gordo tightly. And though she was tired, she knew inevitably, thoughts of Angel would keep her awake.

* * *

Angel stood outside Willy's bar, going over the plan in his mind. Get in. Get information. Get out.

Now all he had to do was to find someone drunk enough, or dumb enough, to throw him a crumb. Even though he'd been away from Sunnydale for just over a year, his reputation for being on the Slayer's side preceded him, and no one around here would give him information unless they hadn't a clue who he was. But with all the newcomers in town, maybe he'd get lucky.

He watched as a group of Sloth demons headed inside, and placed a hand over his nose. Sloth demons weren't exactly known for their good hygiene skills.

"Here goes nothing," Angel said, transforming to his game face. It was best to blend in, he figured.

Angel opened the door and went inside. He surveyed the crowd tonight in the stuffy, smoke-filled bar. Willy had been right about one thing…business was certainly booming. At the far end of the room, the Sloth demons he'd seen moments before had settled around a corner table, and effectively cleared the surrounding tables, he noted.

At the other end, another group of demons, several different species even, were crowded around a table. There were vampires too, of course. Everyone generally seemed to be having a good time.

Angel strolled up to the bar and sat next to a lone vampire with a drink in hand. He noticed Willy wasn't working behind the counter tonight; apparently his night off. It was just as well though. Willy wouldn't give him information to him when the bar was this crowded anyway.

"I'll have another one, Stan," said the vampire, pushing his drink across the bar.

"Yo, Stan, my man!" Angel said, putting on a jovial act. "I'll have what he's having."

The bartender Stan went about refilling the vampire's drink, then prepared another for Angel as well.

"This town is great," Angel said, taking the drink Stan offered. He took a sip, downing about half of it. "Yeah, really great. I can go to a bar, I can get a drink. Yeah, just a really great town."

"Unfortunate name, though," the vampire said with a chuckle.

"But I hear it's the place to be for some real action." Angel leaned closer to the vampire and spoke in a low voice. "I keep hearing all this talk about end of days or something? What's that all about?"

The vampire turned to him, smiling. "You don't know?"

"Enlighten me."

"You know there's a hellmouth in Sunnydale, right?"

"Of course. Why else would I be here?"

"It's closed now, but when the Hellmouth opens again, it'll be the end of days for the humans, and the beginning of days for us."

"End of days for humans?" Angel smiled, keeping up with his act. "You mean we kill them?"

"Well, not all of them, of course. We have to eat, right?" The vampire laughed. "I mean the end of their normal ways of living. Imagine a world where the humans are the ones hiding. Imagine a world in which vampires and demons can roam freely, a town that's completely ours."

"Is that really possible?"

"When Maleficus opens the Hellmouth, it'll not only be possible, but it'll be reality."

"Who's—" The presence of three burly-looking vampires standing behind them interrupted Angel's question.

"You shouldn't be talking to this one, Pete," said one of them.

The vampire, Pete, turned around, and Angel could sense his fear as he spoke. "I was just telling him what's so great about this town. Why shouldn't I talk to him? Who is he?"

"He helps the Slayer."

Angel held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just a vampire enjoying a good drink. And as for the Slayer, it's that whole 'keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer' type deals. You know?"

The vampire, who apparently was the leader of the group, moved closer and glared at Angel. He obviously wasn't buying it. "You're not welcome here."

Angel stood up to him, staring him down. "I'm pretty sure that I am. I mean…aren't all vampires and demons welcome here at Willy's?"

"I thought you said the one who helps the Slayer looks like Billy Idol!" Pete said.

One of the vampires in the group turned to Pete and laughed. "You're not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you, Petey boy? Don't you know that that's _Angelus_?"

Pete's eyes grew wide. "_That's _Angelus?"

"Actually, I just go by Angel now."

The bar, which had been rather loud before, was silent now. Every demon and vampire in the bar had their eyes on them.

Then all hell broke loose.

To Angel's surprise, the vampires attacked Pete, pushing him out of his seat and onto the floor. Apparently talking to him made Pete some sort of traitor.

"Hey, take it outside!" Stan hollered, coming out of the backroom when he heard the commotion. "There's no fighting in the bar!"

As the brawl continued, Angel placed a few bills on the counter and took the opportunity to slip out unnoticed. He'd known it wouldn't be long before someone recognized him, but at least his efforts weren't completely for naught, thanks to Pete.

He'd gotten what he came for. And it was more than just a little crumb of information. It was a name.

_Maleficus._

* * *

A/N: Well, the big bad finally has a name now. You'll learn more about him later, as well as his connection to Wolfram & Hart. But for now, keeping you all in suspense…

As for the title of this chapter (if you didn't already know), it's a line from probably the most famous love poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. You know it. _How do I love thee? Let me count the ways_…I thought it was fitting. And here I was thinking that line came from Shakespeare, ha! Research really pays off when it comes to these things…

Until 20! :)


	20. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

_Los Angeles_

Lindsey was on his way to the board room when he heard Lilah calling his name.

"Good morning, Lilah."

"Hey. You have any idea what this meeting is about?"

"Your guess is good as mine."

Lilah leaned in closer so she could speak in a lower voice. "So, have you taken care of our little problem yet?"

"I spoke to our contact. He's fishing around for information, and he caused some sort of ruckus at a bar last night."

"I wasn't asking you for an update. I was asking what you're planning to do about it."

Lindsay gave her a smile. "Relax, Lilah. There's no problem. Angel doesn't know anything, at least not anything where we're concerned. He's after whoever put his ex in the hospital."

"And you don't think our, for lack of a better word, high-profile client had anything to do with that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"That's the beauty of having a high-profile client, Lilah. When there's trouble, they're usually the first one suspected. Trust me, there's no way Angel could tie us to this."

"I don't like this, Lindsey. Angel is going to find out we're involved somehow or another. This is the firm's biggest project and if the vampire ruins it, the Senior Partners—"

"You worry too much. I've got this under control. Tell you what…if I feel Angel's getting too close, I'll send in a few distractions to throw him off the track."

"You better be right about this," she warned, then headed into the board room.

* * *

Buffy sat in the tiny exam room and stared at the wall. Several posters and charts were displayed, all detailing the human brain. The posters were boring to read, so Buffy perused the magazines for something more interesting.

"_Time, Newsweek, Popular Science,_" she said, reading off some of the titles. "What, no _People?" _Buffy placed the magazines back into the holder. For a brain doctor, the exam room was certainly dull and non-stimulating.

Buffy sat back down in the chair, drumming her fingers on the side table. A small model brain soon caught her attention. The model, probably something that belonged in an anatomy class, was made up of several pieces. Buffy took out the pieces, examining each one, then attempted to put it back together. Unfortunately, the pieces were much easier to take out of the model than to put back in.

"Miss Summers," the doctor announced, walking into the room.

Startled by the doctor's sudden arrival, Buffy dropped several brain pieces on the floor, and she scrambled to pick them up. "Sorry."

The doctor gave her a smile as he reached to the floor and picked up part of the brain. "It's okay. It's supposed to do that. Brains fall apart, and I put them back together." He placed the piece back into the model. "See? Good as new."

Buffy smiled back at him as the doctor took a seat beside her. "So, how are you feeling? Headaches, nausea, dizziness? Any new symptoms?"

"Actually, no. I've been feeling mostly good."

"Taking it easy like I told you to?"

"Yeah."

"Good. And what about your memory? Have you been able to recall anything yet?"

"A few flashes, here and there. That's all though. Most of it is still some big, huge blank."

Dr. Drake made a few notes in her file. "Don't feel discouraged. If you're remembering things, even if it's something small, then there's a good possibility you'll recover more of your memory. You'll just have to give it some time and be patient, even though I know that's easier said than done."

The doctor asked a few more questions, then performed his normal checkup routines. Then before she knew it, the doctor was standing up; the whole appointment over in a matter of minutes.

"Well, I'm going to let you go, Miss Summers. I think you have made an amazing recovery. In fact, I'm still shaking my head over the fact that you actually walked out of this place."

"So that's it? We're finished?"

"Not quite. I want to see you again in six months. Just to check on your progress. Although I want you to call me if any of those symptoms start to come back."

"Okay."

"Oh, one more thing. You haven't started back your skating, have you?"

"My skating? Oh! Right, my skating. No, not yet."

"I know you're not going to want to hear this, but I'm going to advise you to give it at least a week. I'm worried what a fall might do to you at this stage in your recovery, especially if you were to hit your head, and I want you to avoid any strenuous physical activity. Just because you're feeling better doesn't mean you're fully recovered. Light exercise is fine, but stay off the ice for at least seven days. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can definitely stay off the ice for another week," Buffy said. She could say that honestly, because she hadn't gone skating in over a year. Or not that she remembered anyway.

* * *

Giles rose to his feet as Buffy walked back into the waiting room.

"I passed my neuro exam with flying colors," she told him proudly.

"Buffy, that's wonderful."

"Can we go now? I've had enough of this hospital."

Giles smiled. "Of course."

"So what else did the doctor say?" Giles asked as they walked across the parking lot. "Will there be any more follow-up appointments?"

"Yeah, for a six-month follow-up. But that's no big. Just routine. The doctor says I made an amazing recovery. He said he still couldn't believe I walked out of this place. Actually, I didn't walk. I was wheeled out. But I walked in the parking lot."

Giles gave her a smile. "I'm just glad you're walking at all."

"So, I guess I'll be back to slaying in no time!"

Giles stopped in his tracks, sensing Buffy wasn't telling him the whole story, for she seemed to keep emphasizing how recovered she was. "Did the doctor mention if it was advisable to resume normal activities?"

"He said I might want to stay off the ice for a week. And considering I'm not actually training for the Winter Olympics, I think that's entirely possible." Buffy opened the door and got into the passenger seat of Giles' convertible.

"Buffy—"

"Giles, I'm fine. Really."

"Buffy, what exactly did the doctor say?"

"That brains fall apart and he puts them back together," she said with a grin.

"Buffy…"

"Alright. He said no strenuous physical activity for a least a week. But, Giles, the doctor doesn't understand I'm the Slayer! He doesn't understand that I heal really fast. I'm practically back to my old self again. Well, except for the memory loss thing."

"You and I both know that," Giles said as he started the car. "But let's err on the side of caution? Allow your body a little more time to heal and to fully regain its strength. Just take it easy, and we'll see where we go from there."

"Giles, I've been 'taking it easy' for a week now and I'm bored out of my mind. I need to do something. I want to get my life back, and if I can't slay, then what am I supposed to do?"

"Do you feel up to going to the Magic Box for a while?"

"Sure."

"Good. You can help with research."

Buffy frowned. "Oh. Fun. I walked right into that one, huh?"

"Buffy."

Buffy looked at Giles, noting the seriousness in his voice. She wondered if he would say something about her complaining, but instead, he seemed as if he was trying to choose his words carefully.

"We may have a lead on who ordered the attack on you."

* * *

Giles pulled into his usual parking space a few minutes later. As they got out of the car, Willow and Tara had just arrived.

"Hey, Buffy!" Willow said, waving.

"Hey, Will. Hey, Tara."

"How was your checkup?" Tara asked.

"It was fine."

"Are you going to help us with research?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. I was sort of drafted into it," Buffy said, giving Giles a look, but he was already heading inside the shop.

The girls followed him inside, and Willow and Tara joined the assembled group at the table. On one side sat Wesley and Cordelia. Across from them, it appeared Xander had been drafted for research as well. The only person not researching was Anya, who seemed busy counting money from the register.

"Anything yet?" Giles asked, directing his question to Wesley as he sat down at the table.

"Nothing yet, I'm afraid," Wesley answered.

Willow took her laptop out of her bag. "Good thing I brought this."

Buffy meandered to the table, thinking how strange this scene was. If it had been a year ago, and they had all been at the high school instead of a magic shop, it'd be like old times when they researched the mayor's ascension. Well, except for the fact that Wesley was far less stuffy now. And Cordelia was much more nicer. And Xander, well, Xander was the same, but he seemed happier. Maybe Anya had something to do with that. She held back her laughter as Xander stuffed a donut into his mouth, leaving a smear of jelly on his face.

"Donut?" Xander offered, picking up the box from the table and holding it out to Buffy.

"Sure, I…" Buffy looked up and smiled, forgetting the donuts as she saw Angel emerge from the backroom with several books. "Angel."

Angel smiled back at her. "Good morning."

Buffy stepped forward, taking half of the books to lessen his load. "I didn't think you'd be here. How did you—"

"There's a sewer opening in the basement."

"Oh. That's kind of…weird actually."

"Mostly convenient. So, how are you feeling? Are you up for some research?"

"I'm fine. Giles said you had a lead."

"Yeah." Angel placed the books he'd been carrying on the table.

"Well, what is it?"

"A name. _Maleficus_. It's not much to go on right now, but it's a start."

"Is he a…master vamp?" Buffy asked with a little hesitation.

Angel paused for a moment, then continued. "We don't know, but more than likely, yes. Whoever he is though, he's the one planning to open the Hellmouth."

Willow looked up from her laptop. "What did you say his name was? _Maleficus_?"

Angel nodded. "Yes."

"That sounds like Latin."

"It is," Wesley said, turning to Willow. "It's the Latin word for 'evil' or 'malicious', or a more loose translation, 'evil-doer'. Which is appropriate in this case."

"Evil-doer. How original," Cordelia remarked.

"Be that as it may, it's still more than we had before," Wesley said. "And now that we have a name to research, perhaps we can finally get some answers."

"I'll see what I can find on the Internet," Willow said, already typing away.

"Meanwhile, why don't we get started with these volumes," Giles said, indicating the books Angel had brought from the back room.

"Goody," Buffy said, taking a book as she took the seat beside Angel.

"Question," Xander said, looking up from his book. "If this Maleficus vampire is in fact a master, doesn't that mean he's been around for a while?"

"Yes," Giles answered.

"So then why doesn't Dead Boy know of him?"

"Xander," Buffy warned.

"What? I'm just saying. Why doesn't Angel know who he is?" When Angel didn't respond, Xander pointed to Wesley and Giles. "Okay, then what about you two? Don't you Watcher guys keep up with who the major big bads are?"

"Knowing every 'big bad' as you put it would be almost near impossible, Xander," Giles said.

"Giles is right," Anya said, walking over to the table. "I don't even know who he is, and I've been around longer than all of you. Of course, when I was on my vengeance gig, I didn't always pay attention to who the big players were."

"What about Riley?" Giles asked, turning to Buffy. "Do you think his resources at the Initiative would have any information?"

"Riley's not exactly speaking to me right now."

Xander looked up. "How come?"

"We broke up."

"You broke up? But Riley was going to take me paintballing this weekend with Forrest and Graham!" When Buffy gave him a look, Xander returned to his book. "They needed a fourth. Never mind. Didn't really like paintball that much anyway."

"Hey, guys?" Willow said.

"Did you find something?" Tara asked.

"I'm not sure."

Wesley leaned over to look at her screen.

"See what I mean?" Willow asked him.

Wesley nodded. "Yes. I see the problem."

"What is it, Wesley?" Angel asked.

"Angel, are you absolutely positive this Maleficus character is a vampire?"

"I assume he is, but I suppose it's possible he could be just about anything."

Wesley groaned. "I was afraid you would say that."

"Why? What's the problem?"

Wesley exchanged a look with Willow. "How many hits did you have again?"

Willow looked up from her laptop and frowned. "When I typed in 'Maleficus' into the vampire/demon database, I came up with just over 10,000 hits."

"Damn," Angel muttered.

"If we had a little more information about him, we could narrow down the list," Willow said, staying optimistic.

Cordelia picked up another book from the pile. "Which means we're going to be researching for a while."

* * *

_Los Angeles_

Holland looked up from his notes and stared at the group of lawyers gathered around the table. "Before we adjourn this meeting, let's get a status update on our ongoing projects. Gavin…your real estate project. Any headway on that front?"

Gavin nodded. "Yes, sir. Everything is right on schedule. We expect to break ground spring of 2001."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. Now, what about the Sunnydale Project?" Holland looked towards Lindsey and Lilah. "How's that coming along?"

"Underway as we speak, sir," Lindsey replied. "Another transport is set to leave tonight at ten o'clock with a load full of demons all ready to call Sunnydale 'home sweet home'."

Holland nodded in approval. "Excellent. The Senior Partners will be pleased. Today…Sunnydale. Tomorrow…the world." Holland gave a little chuckle.

"There is, however, one small problem," Lilah said.

Holland's smile fell, and Lindsey turned to Lilah, glaring.

"What's the problem?"

"The vampire. Appears he's in Sunnydale, and he's looking for answers."

Holland turned to Lindsey. "Why haven't I heard about this sooner?"

"The vampire's presence in Sunnydale is merely coincidental, sir. He's an acquaintance of the Slayer, which should be no surprise to us considering what side he fights on. Inconvenient as it may be, the situation is under control. Angel knows nothing of our plans. And despite the Slayer's track record, she shouldn't interfere with the progress we're making. She'll be far too outnumbered. Even if the vampire lends her a hand, he'll likely fail."

Holland's expression relaxed. "Make sure of that, Lindsey," he warned.

* * *

A/N: Oh those evil lawyers at W&H…they're always up to no good! But with the AI team and the Scoobies working together, they'll be on to them eventually…

Oh, and now that I've got the major "big bad" addressed, time to focus on what's really important…Buffy and Angel! :) The next few chapters will be focusing a lot on them, so you'll want to stay tuned…

Until 21! :)


	21. Slowly But Surely

Angel stepped into the training room, watching Buffy for a moment as she sat on the bench. She held a stake in her hands, which she twirled around mindlessly.

Buffy caught his gaze and smiled. "Hey."

Angel took a step closer. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I just needed a break from research. I thought if I came here and sat for a while, maybe I'd remember something."

Angel moved a crossbow aside and sat down beside her. "Have you?"

"No. It's so weird. I feel like my life is a book, and I was on chapter ten. Then someone came along and flipped it to chapter twenty. Now there's this huge blank and I'm all lost and confused. I just don't know what came before."

"You'll remember."

"What do you think of my training room?" she asked, changing the subject.

Angel nodded his head in approval. "It's a good space. Perfect for a good workout."

"Yeah. Too bad I can't use it. I'd really like to take out my frustrations on that punching bag right about now."

"What do you mean you can't use it?"

"The doctor told me to avoid any type of strenuous activity for another week. And Giles seems to agree with him."

"Well you are recovering from a major head injury, Buffy. I'm sure both the doctor and Giles just want to make sure you're fully recuperated before you resume your normal activities."

"I know that, but I'm fine. I know my own body's limits. I would never push myself. But everyone is treating me like I'm this fragile piece of glass since my accident. Like I'm going to fall apart or something. It's been a long time since anyone has treated me like that."

"I don't think you're fragile."

"Good. So maybe you could spar with me? You know, like we used to?" Buffy stood up and held up her fists in a fighting stance.

Angel frowned. "I don't think so. I'm inclined to agree with Giles. If your doctor says take it easy for a week, you should."

Buffy put her fists down, feeling deflated. "Not you too. You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am on your side."

Buffy stepped closer to him. "Then help me train. I get why everyone is worried, okay? I was in a coma. I almost _died._ I get it. And I'd like to keep staying alive, but I can't do that if I'm not at the top of my game. I've been out of commission for way too long, and I need to get back into the swing of things. So help me train. There's an impending apocalypse around the corner. It would be nice if I could be strong enough to survive through it."

Suddenly, a smile came to Angel's face. "I have an idea."

"What?"

"I don't know why I didn't think of this before."

"What?" Buffy asked again.

"Meet me back at the mansion later this afternoon. Say four o'clock? And wear something comfortable."

Buffy smiled brightly. "You changed your mind?"

"No, I haven't. No sparring for now."

"But I thought you said—"

"We're not going to spar, but that doesn't mean you still can't train."

* * *

Buffy arrived at the mansion at four o'clock, dressed in comfortable clothes as Angel instructed. Angel had tried to be secretive about what he was planning, but Buffy had quickly figured it out. She walked into the mansion and watched Angel unnoticed for a moment, smiling because she had been right.

The living room was illuminated by a roaring fire in the fireplace, plus a few candles, and there was soft music playing from somewhere in the background. In the middle of it all was Angel, wearing black pants…and not much of anything else. Buffy watched as he made slow, graceful movements with his arms, and wondered if this had been a mistake.

How was she supposed to concentrate on her training when he looked like _that_?

"You can come over here anytime," Angel said with a smile, not stopping his movements for a second.

Buffy slipped her shoes off and kicked them in the corner, then walked over to where Angel stood.

She felt Angel step behind her. "Do you remember how to do this?"

"I'm a little rusty. You'll have to show me again."

"Relax your body. Clear your mind. Focus on your breathing."

Buffy inhaled deeply, her heart feeling anything but relaxed, at least not while Angel's hands were on her.

"Stand with your feet apart. Now move your arms like this." Angel guided her arms up. "Now slowly, sink down," and Angel brought her arms back down.

"Shift your body," and Buffy moved into the position. Angel guided her through several more poses, slowly moving her arms through the air and instructing her how to move her body.

"Is it coming back to you?"

"Yes."

"We'll do it together now."

Buffy watched as Angel moved to stand beside her, repeating the poses again. She followed his movements, eventually becoming familiar enough so that her and Angel's movements were in sync.

After a while, Angel began to throw in a few different poses, which Buffy repeated, quickly catching on.

Together, they turned to the left, arms in the air and meeting each other in the middle. Buffy remembered this part well, but fought the urge to turn around and face him. If she did, she'd want to kiss him.

She wondered if maybe Angel was thinking the same thing, because she thought she heard him whisper her name.

"Ahh, the ancient Chinese art of tai chi," Wesley said as he opened the front door and saw the two.

Buffy felt Angel move away, the moment of possible kissage passed.

Angel began to put his shirt on. Training was obviously over.

"Hey, Wesley," Buffy said. "Angel was just…helping me."

"Thought a little tai chi would be a good first step in getting her back to training," Angel explained.

"Yes, he's right. The exercise is known to boost energy, stamina, sharpen reflexes, relieve stress, and quite beneficial in helping the body recover from injuries." Wesley stared at them for a moment, then nodded. "Well, carry on," he said and left the room.

"I guess I should go actually. It'll be dark soon." Buffy reached down to pick her shoes off the floor and slipped them back on. "Maybe we could um…do this again?"

"Sure."

"See you tomorrow?"

Angel nodded. "Of course."

Buffy took one more look at him, then turned away and headed outside in the fading sunlight.

Yes, she was definitely going to have to do this again.

* * *

Willow was passing the hallway bathroom when she heard Buffy call her name.

She peered inside. "Yeah?"

"What do you think of this color?" Buffy indicated the lipstick she had just applied and held up the tube. "It's new."

"I like it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's subtle but not…too subtle."

"Good." Buffy looked into the mirror and smiled, admiring her choice of color. Then, she set about looking for her eye shadow.

Willow eyed the bathroom counter, noticing hair and makeup accessories scattered about everywhere. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Angel's going to give me another tai chi lesson."

Willow raised her eyebrows. "And you need makeup for that?"

Buffy glanced at her, smiling. "It doesn't hurt to look good. I have to do something to show him what he's missing, right?" Buffy found her eye shadow and began to apply it.

"Buffy, I think we need to talk about that."

"About what?"

"About Angel."

"You think I'm going to get hurt."

"Well…yeah. I mean, I want you to be happy, and if you want to try to get back together with Angel, I'll support you. But at the same time, he always has a way of hurting you, whether he means to or not. I'm just worried what's going to happen when he goes back to L.A. Where will that leave you?"

"Will, I love that you're concerned about me, but I'll be okay. I know he's hurt me in the past, but he came here to Sunnydale to save me. That has to count for something. There has to be a part of him that still wants to be with me, a part of him that doesn't want to live without me. I just have to believe that he'll change his mind. It may take a while to convince him, but love is never easy, right? Nothing worth having ever is. Our situation just happens to be a little more…complicated."

"Well of course he still loves you, Buffy. I'm sure he would be with you if he could."

"That's the thing. He can. He could be with me if he would just allow himself to be happy for once. Not perfect happiness, I mean," she quickly added. "He just needs a swift kick in the head to get him to realize that."

* * *

Angel peered from behind his door, being careful to avoid the sunlight, and saw Willow standing outside. "Willow?"

"Hey. Can I come in?"

Angel nodded, then moved aside as Willow walked in.

Once inside, Angel closed the door behind her, and Willow looked around the place. "Wow, it's been a while since I've been here. It's so…dark."

Willow turned around, smiling at Angel. "I guess that's why you like it here."

"Is everything alright?"

Willow walked over to the couch and sat down. "I wanted to talk to you. About Buffy."

Angel frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing like that. But I am worried about her."

Angel moved to sit down beside her. "What's the matter?"

Willow paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Do you know what she's been looking forward to all day?"

Angel shook his head.

"Tai chi. Or more specifically, four o'clock, because then she gets to come over here and see you. And she's been tearing the house apart looking for this black tank top that she says is her favorite and she insists she absolutely has to wear. And to be honest, I don't even know if she still has the shirt anymore. But she still wants to wear it. She says she looks good in it. And yesterday? She spent an hour working on her hair and makeup. She wanted to get it just right."

"I'm not sure I'm following..."

"Don't you get it? A girl doesn't spend that much time on her appearance for nothing. She wants you back, Angel. She thinks that maybe if you two spend enough time together, you'll see what you've been missing, and you'll change your mind."

Angel stood up from the couch and walked over to the fireplace. He stared into the heat, watching as the flames flickered. "I know how Buffy feels about me, and she understands the reasons why we can't be together."

"Does she?"

Angel turned to stare at Willow, who stood up and walked over to him. "Angel, I'm glad you came and rescued Buffy. And I'm glad you're here. Ever since Buffy came out of the coma, I think it's been hard for her to adjust, but having you here has made things a little easier. You have this way of getting through to her. A way that nobody else can. Not me. Not Xander. Not Giles. And I'm worried what's going to happen to her when you leave."

"Buffy will be just fine."

"Sure, she'll be fine. Like she was fine last summer?"

Angel turned away, having a feeling of where this conversation was going.

"You know, I spent a lot of time with Buffy after you left. Sometimes I would stay overnight and we'd talk and laugh for hours, or watch some cheesy movie we'd rented. I would try to keep her mind off you. I thought if I distracted her, she'd think of you less, and then she wouldn't hurt as much. But you know what? It never worked. You were always on her mind. Sometimes in the middle of the night, when she thought I was sleeping, I would hear her cry. You did that to her, Angel. You broke up with her, and you made her cry. You always act like you're so worried about Buffy getting hurt, when you're in fact the one who's hurt her the most."

"I never wanted to hurt her."

"But you did! You broke her heart! And hey, really bad timing by the way! How could you do that to her right before the prom? Don't you know how important the prom is to a high school girl?"

Angel glanced at Willow, surprised by her tone. "It was bad timing, and I'm sorry for that."

"When Buffy was in a coma, you said you had made a mistake leaving her. So did you really mean that, or were you just saying that because you felt guilty?"

Angel stared at the floor, saying nothing.

"You know what I think? I think you're scared. You're scared of what you feel for her. I think you want Buffy, but you hold yourself back because you don't think she deserves you. You think you're doing Buffy a favor, leaving her so that she'll be free to find someone better than you. But you're wrong. That's not what Buffy wants at all. You made that decision all on your own. And in case you haven't noticed, Buffy's not some sixteen-year-old girl anymore. She's done a lot of growing up, and she's more than capable of choosing who she wants to be with. She doesn't need for you to make that decision for her."

Willow stepped closer to Angel. "The way I see it, you have a choice. You could either be semi-happy and make Buffy really happy, or you could be miserable, and make Buffy feel even more miserable. But if you're not planning on getting back together with her, then you need to leave now and stop leading her on."

Willow turned away, feeling Angel's eyes on her as she walked towards the door. She stopped at the door and turned around to face him. "Think about what I said."

Then she let herself out.

* * *

Angel was lighting a candle when he felt her presence. He turned around and gave her a smile.

"Hi. I know I'm early."

"No, you're just in time. Buffy, I…"

He stared at her for a moment, smiling brightly at him.

"_You could either be semi-happy and make Buffy really happy, or you could be miserable, and make Buffy feel even more miserable."_

"I want to show you some new moves," he said.

"Great. I can't wait."

* * *

A/N: Okay, can I just say that I've been looking forward to posting that tai chi scene for _months_? :) Obviously it's one of my favorite B/A moments, so of course I had to create an updated version of it. Also, I like how Angel feels the need to take off his shirt when doing it.

As for the Willow/Angel scene, I thought it was time that someone did give Angel that swift kick in the head (figuratively), and Willow seemed like the one to do it. She is, after all, Buffy's best friend, and she always has her best interests in mind. This means she'll do anything to help Buffy be happy…as well as trying to stop anything (or anyone) from hurting her.

Angel's still being a bit stubborn, but the walls are finally breaking down a bit…

Until 22! Thanks so much for reading, everyone! :)


	22. A Purpose

Angel never ceased to amaze Buffy.

Other than Giles, she had never met another soul who was as knowledgeable in so many different subjects as he was. He could speak several languages fluently. He could identify an artist by simply looking at a painting. He could even recite poetry from heart. It stood to reason that it went with the territory of being immortal. When you lived long enough to have a bicentennial, you learned a skill or two. Or ten.

Or you mastered any number of the martial arts, like tai chi.

Buffy wasn't quite at his level yet, but after a few sessions, she was well on her way to becoming really good at it. She watched Angel from the corner of her eye, mimicking his movement at the same time, and wondered what other skills he had up his sleeve.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Cordelia whispered to Wesley as she watched them, unnoticed.

Wesley walked over to the doorway where Cordelia stood. "Oh, they're doing tai chi. They've been practicing it every afternoon this past week."

"That's like one of those martial arts or something, right?"

"Yes, and it appears they're both quite good at it."

"They are so totally getting back together."

Wesley stared at Cordelia in confusion. "But I thought they couldn't…"

"Oh, they can't, but they'll fool themselves into thinking kissing and holding hands is enough for now. Then Angel will start to get a little broody, because he can't be too happy. Which in turn will make Buffy pull away and get all distant. Then they'll break up. Trust me, this is how it always goes. We'll be in Sunnydale for a while."

With that, Cordelia picked up her magazine from the table and left the room.

Wesley glanced at the two across the room once more and shrugged his shoulders. Then left to get his tea as the kettle began to whistle.

* * *

"So, same time tomorrow?" Buffy asked as she slipped into her shoes and grabbed her bag when they were finished.

"Yes."

"I'll be looking forward to it." Buffy's gaze wandered down his shirtless chest for a moment before catching herself. "I um, I should go now."

Angel picked his shirt off from the couch and began to put it on. "It'll be dark soon."

"Yeah. Who would have thought there'd be a day when Buffy Summers would be home _before_ dark? But no unnecessary patrolling, right?"

"Soon," Angel promised. "You'll be back in the game in no time. And I'll go with you."

"I'd like that. Well…I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight."

Angel watched as she walked out the door, silently wishing their tai chi session had not gone by so fast.

After she left, he walked around the room, blowing out candles and straightening up. It was in that very moment a shiny object in the corner caught his eye. Angel bent down to pick it up off the floor, and when he examined the object closely, he couldn't believe what it was.

It was a ring. And not just any ring, but Buffy's ring.

The very one he had given to her so long ago.

* * *

Cordelia had been about to go to bed when she passed Angel. He sat outside in the courtyard on a bench, and apparently, was brooding. She stepped outside in the doorway, and Angel turned around when he noticed her.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Just…thinking."

Cordelia sat down beside Angel, looking up at the sky. "Pretty night."

Angel didn't respond.

Cordelia stared at Angel, then noticed a small object in his hands. "What's that?"

Angel held up the ring and Cordelia took it, examining it closely.

"It's pretty. It looks familiar though, like I've seen it somewhere before."

"It's Buffy's ring."

"Oh." Cordelia handed the ring back to Angel. "What's it doing here? Did she forget it?"

Angel shook his head. "No. I gave this to her on her 17th birthday. I gave it to her…before."

"Before you lost your soul."

Angel nodded. "Yeah. It's a Claddagh ring."

"I know. I've heard of them before."

"Buffy told me after she sent me to Hell, she'd gotten rid of this ring. She said it was too painful for her to hold on to."

"And now it's here."

"I found it on the floor in the corner. I don't know how it got there. I don't think that was where Buffy left it. I can't believe it's been here the whole time."

"Are you going to give it back to her?"

"If I give this ring back to her, what would that mean?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that's something you're going to have to figure out."

Angel stared at the ring again.

"For what it's worth, I don't think it's fair. I mean, you two have this great love, and you can't even share it. I think it's kind of sad."

"Life isn't fair, Cordy. Nothing in life is fair."

"But that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be happy someday. You're a good person, Angel, but you brood too much. I think it's time someone gave you a break."

Cordelia stood to her feet. "Well, I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to hit the sack."

"Cordy?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I should give her the ring back?"

"Why don't you hold on to it now? Hold on to it, and think about it. If you're meant to give it back to her, you'll know."

* * *

Wesley stood in the doorway for a moment, contemplating whether or not to disturb Angel's brooding session. Before he spoke a word though, Angel turned around, noticing his presence. It was near impossible to sneak up on a vampire.

"Wes."

Wesley moved closer to Angel and held up the book in his hand. "I've been researching some more, and I think I've found something promising. It says here that in 1985, a vampire who called himself Maleficus was gathering an army of fighters in Rome. He even recruited a demon or two. The plan was to cause city-wide chaos and destruction. I think this may be our vampire."

"It's a good thought, Wes, but that's not our guy."

Wesley shook his head. "I don't understand. It seems as if—"

"What is that? _Russo's Compendium_?"

Wesley examined the spine of the book for the title. "Yes."

"I've researched that already. Keep reading. He was killed by a slayer later that same year."

"Oh. Well, so much for that theory." Wesley joined Angel on the bench, watching him for a moment as he held his usual brooding, distant stare. "Are you alright? Cordelia said you were out here brooding."

Angel gave Wesley a look. "I'm not brooding. I'm just…thinking."

"About Buffy?"

Angel looked down. "Alright, I may be brooding a little bit."

"You still love her."

"What exactly am I doing here, Wes? I came here and did what I had to do. I saved Buffy. And yet, I'm still here. It's like longer I stay here in Sunnydale, the harder it is for me to leave."

"Perhaps you haven't wanted to leave because you have unfinished business."

"Don't you find it odd that Cordelia hasn't had any visions lately?" Angel asked, changing the subject. "She'd have them all the time in L.A., but here in Sunnydale, not a one."

"The Powers brought you here, Angel. I'm sure if there was something the Powers wanted you to see, they'd let you know."

Angel didn't respond, although Wesley could tell Angel was thinking about what he said. "Angel, do you ever believe that sometimes things happen for a reason?"

Angel turned to Wesley, raising an eyebrow.

"I believe the Powers brought you here for a reason, and not just to save Buffy's life."

"Right, to stop Maleficus."

"No, I don't think that's it at all. Stopping Maleficus is Buffy's fight. But I believe your purpose is to help her in some way. Cordelia didn't have a vision of the vicious vampires that attacked her, nor did she have a vision of Maleficus. Her vision was of Buffy in trouble."

"You don't have any objections to staying here in Sunnydale for a little while longer, do you?"

Wesley smiled. "No, not at all. In fact, as ludicrous as it may sound, I sort of enjoy this town." Wesley stood to his feet and picked up his book. "Never a dull moment here in Sunnydale. You never know what may happen next in a town on a Hellmouth."

* * *

It had been the longest week of Buffy's life, but she had somehow finally convinced Giles that she was well enough for her regular slayer training.

She laughed as he brought out the familiar training gear….excess padding, for him of course, and a variety of weaponry.

"Are we really going to do this again?" she asked, admiring his getup.

"Well if you prefer to wait another day…"

"No, I'm ready!" Buffy said, grabbing the quarterstaff.

It didn't take long for Giles to end up flat on his back on the floor.

"Just like riding a bike," she said triumphantly.

Apparently, it really was in fact, like riding a bike. Over the past year, Giles had introduced a few more methods and ways to enhance their training sessions. He was impressed that Buffy could remember the moves so well, even if her memory of the training was fuzzy at best.

"Well done, Buffy," Giles announced, moving over to the window to retrieve his glasses when they were finished.

"So that's it? Training session over?"

"I think that's enough for today."

Buffy reached for her towel and draped it over her neck. She hardly needed it though. She barely worked up a sweat.

"Would you like some tea?"

Buffy gave Giles a smile. The fact that Giles still drank tea hadn't changed, and some tea would be nice right about now. "Sure," she said, then followed Giles out of the training room.

* * *

Buffy turned on the lights in the training room and led Angel inside. They had decided to skip their daily tai chi for today and focus on more hands-on training.

Angel, curious about the weapons cabinet in the corner, wandered over to it and took a look inside. "Yeah, this really is a great training room. Looks like it's got everything you need."

"Yeah, it does, except it's sort of lacking in one major area."

"What's that?"

"I need a sparring partner. I mean, Giles does what he can, but I really need someone more on my level, you know?"

"I think I can fill that void," Angel said with a smile.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

Angel caught her gaze, noticing her smile, and wondered if there was anything more beautiful.

"So, want to get started?" Buffy asked, bringing his attention back to the task at hand.

"Yeah, we really should. We've got a lot of work to do."

"Well I know I've been out of commission for a while but I think…" Buffy kicked her leg up and Angel promptly ducked her move. "…I can get back into the swing of things in no time. Wow, you're quick."

"You are too. Try it again."

Buffy discovered that it was easy to get back into old habits. She may have forgotten the last year of her life, but fighting was something that came natural. After several more attempts to take Angel off guard, she'd finally managed to flip him on the mat and pin him down.

Angel looked up at her and smiled. "That was good."

"If you were an evil vampire, you'd be dust now," she said victoriously.

They locked gazes for a few seconds, and after an awkward silence, Buffy stood up, allowing Angel to move.

Angel rose to his feet, watching as Buffy turned away. "You alright?"

Buffy turned around and started pacing around the room. "I _am_ good. I'm better than good_. _So how did they beat me, Angel?"

"They were strong, Buffy. It would have been difficult for anyone to take them down alone."

"But you did. You killed them, right?"

"I got lucky."

"I wish I could remember. If I could just remember the point where I lost control of the fight. But I can't. I don't remember anything about that night."

Angel walked over to Buffy, taking her arm. "Why don't we work on some defensive moves?"

Buffy nodded, following Angel back to the center of the mat. "Okay."

Angel moved to stand behind her, wrapping an arm around her neck. "You're patrolling one night, and suddenly a vampire comes behind you and holds you like this. Now, how do you escape?"

"I grab his arm. I tuck in my neck. Move my foot behind his leg. And then I—" Buffy turned her body and promptly tripped and flipped him over.

Angel laid on the floor and stared at Buffy, grinning proudly. "Good. I think you've got that one down."

Buffy offered her hand, pulling him back up to his feet. They practiced the move several more times until Angel was positive she could do it with her eyes closed.

"Let's do some floor moves now," he suggested.

"Floor moves?"

"Lay down on the mat."

Buffy glanced at him briefly, then moved to the floor and laid down on her back.

"Okay, let's say on the off-chance a vampire pins _you_ down." Angel lowered himself over her, straddling her.

Buffy felt her heart beating faster. She knew he was only showing her a defensive move, but apparently, her heart hadn't quite got the message yet.

"Now, what you want to do in this situation is gain back control. I have control at the moment because I'm on top of you. Move your right foot over here around my ankle."

Buffy moved her foot into position.

"Good. Now take hold of my left arm and—"

Before Angel could explain how to do the rest of the move, Buffy bucked up and threw him off her. Now Buffy was the one on top.

"Like that?" she asked.

Angel laughed. "Yeah. Exactly like that. When did you learn jiu-jitsu?"

Buffy shrugged. "I have no idea. Giles must have been training me. I guess somehow I remember."

"Let's try it again."

Buffy moved back into position and Angel pinned her again. They tried the move again, only this time, Angel put up a little resistance, blocking her moves. After a few moments of struggle, Buffy found her opening and once again, had Angel pinned.

"That's good. Let's try something else. Lay down again."

"I'm just going to pin you again," Buffy teased as she laid back down on the mat.

"We'll see." Angel got into position. "Now, this time, the situation is a little different. Your stake is lying on the ground way over there, but the vampire is over _here. _And also, he's got not only you, but your arms pinned this time." Angel took hold off Buffy's arms and pinned them to her side, holding her tight. "Now, what do you do?"

"I…wait for you to stake him for me?"

Angel smiled. "No, wrong answer. Try again."

"I would, uh…" Buffy lost her train of thought as she stared into his eyes. All of this touching and pinning was sending her emotions into overdrive. She met Angel's gaze and watched as he loomed above her, starting at her intently.

He'd been thinking about her eyes, and how beautiful they were. What color were they? Hazel? Green? Sometimes he couldn't tell, but at this moment, the hazel and green seemed to blend together. His eyes moved away from hers and stared at her lips, which he noticed were soft and slightly parted. Angel loosened his grip on her arms as he lowered himself over those lips. He could hear the frenzied sound of her heartbeat, and the blood underneath her scar pumping in time to it. Even the smell of her was intoxicating, like a mixture of the saltiness of her skin and that scent that was all uniquely Buffy.

She hadn't answered him again. He'd already forgotten the question anyway.

Angel moved his hands to cradle her face, brought her lips closer to his, and he kissed her.

It had been so long since he had kissed her, that he'd almost forgotten had good it actually felt. When he heard Buffy moan softly, he in turn deepened their kiss. How had he gone so long without kissing her?

Buffy brought her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. Angel eased his weight on top of her, feeling the heat of her body spread to his. This was how it should be. They should be able to be together. Two people should be able to love each other, shouldn't they?

After a moment, Angel slowly pulled away, realizing what he had done. He rose to his feet and turned away from her. "I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have done that."

Buffy stood up, touching his arm lightly. "No, don't be sorry. It was…nice. Actually, 'nice' probably isn't the right word. It was—"

Angel turned around and pulled her against him, pressing his mouth to hers again.

The hell with it. He wanted her, and he was tired of fighting it.

While the first kiss had been gentle, the second one was more desperate, almost forceful. It was as if he couldn't get enough of her. Buffy had to pull away just to catch her breath.

"…well above average," she said, finishing her sentence.

* * *

A/N: I know…finally! I told you Angel's walls were starting to break down, didn't I? :)


	23. Reunited, And It Feels So Good

Buffy met his gaze, wondering if he would kiss her again, but the moment was interrupted by footsteps at the door.

"Hey, are you two done in here?" Anya asked. "Because I'm about to lock up for the night."

"We're almost finished," Angel answered, then turned to Buffy. "I think that's enough for tonight."

Buffy nodded, trying not to feel disappointed. "Just give us a minute, Anya?"

"Okay," Anya said, leaving the two.

"Angel, I—"

"God it feels good to kiss you again." He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, then ran his finger along the side of her face. "How did I go so long without it?"

Buffy looked at him, surprised. She hadn't expected that to be his reaction at all. "I don't know."

He smiled at her, tilted her chin, and closed the distance between them with another kiss.

* * *

"Well, this my stop," Buffy said once they arrived at her door. "You didn't have to walk me home. I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything. I enjoyed our walk. But the shop isn't really that far away."

"I just wanted to make sure you got home safe."

Buffy smiled at him. Angel…always the protector. "Do you want to come inside?"

"I should go."

"Oh, okay." Buffy smiled again, hoping to hide her disappointment. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right? For patrol? That is…if you think I'm ready."

"You're ready."

"Okay then." Buffy paused, letting an awkward silence pass. "So, I guess I should…" Buffy pointed to the front door.

"You should get some sleep."

"Yeah. Big day tomorrow."

Buffy stared at him, another awkward silence passing between them as Angel stared back at her. He hadn't made any effort to leave the front porch yet.

"So…goodnight?" Buffy said.

Angel didn't say anything, but rather, stepped closer to her. He placed his hand underneath her chin, tilting her face up, and kissed her softly.

When he pulled away, he gave her a smile, then turned around and walked away from the porch.

Buffy dug into her pocket for her house key and opened the door. Once she was safe inside, she leaned against the door, sighing. She touched her lips, feeling giddy like a schoolgirl. _Angel had kissed her._

Buffy walked around the house, turning off the downstairs lights. She kept replaying the night's events over and over in her mind.

"_God it feels good to kiss you again."_

She went up the stairs slowly, wondering if Willow was awake. She wanted to tell her about Angel, but the door to Willow and Tara's bedroom was closed. Apparently they were already asleep.

So instead, she headed into the bathroom and took a shower. She stayed under the water until her skin turned pink, then went downstairs to raid the kitchen. She settled on having a cup of hot chocolate, hoping it would help her sleep.

Later, she crawled into bed, still replaying the night's wonderful turn of events in her mind.

Had Angel finally changed his mind? He'd been so adamant that they couldn't be together, and yet, the way he'd kissed her clearly said he thought otherwise.

Was she finally getting through to him? Or would he regret it tomorrow?

Buffy sighed as she stared at her clock, realizing it was now after midnight. With all these questions on her mind, sleeping was going to be impossible tonight.

* * *

Angel could not sleep. He laid in bed, thoughts of Buffy keeping him awake.

Pleasant thoughts.

Like the feel of her soft lips against his.

Or the way she'd melt into his arms when they touched.

Or the pure joy he felt when they had made love.

He had been fighting it. Deep down, he knew coming back to Sunnydale, seeing Buffy again, would stir up those old feelings. Last year, he'd been strong and walked away from her. It had been the hardest thing he'd ever done, and a part of him still wondered if he should go.

But he was losing control, and fast. He just wasn't that strong anymore. And all he wanted was her.

"_I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop." _

They couldn't have a normal relationship. They never did, and never would. How could the world be so unfair?

Reaching into his nightstand drawer, he fished around until he found Buffy's ring. He hadn't given it back to her yet. It didn't seem fair to give it to her until he was certain of what he wanted to do. He held the ring up close, admiring the craftsmanship of the design.

"_My people, before I was changed, they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a Claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty...and the heart...Well, you know... Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody."  
_  
He remembered giving her this ring. He had meant every word he said. He loved her.

_"I'm so glad we didn't logic ourselves out of this. We'll make it work, right?"_

"_We will."_

He opened the drawer and placed the ring back inside. When he was sure he could keep that promise to her, he would slip that ring back on her finger.

* * *

Buffy hadn't been asleep, but the sound of her window creaking open suddenly startled her. She looked across the room as the image of a familiar vampire made her heartbeat accelerate for an entirely different reason.

Buffy threw the covers off and went over to the window, now fully open, and she couldn't help but laugh at how happy she was feeling at this moment. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep, and I was wondering if you could?"

"No sleep here either," she answered.

"I guess we need to talk."

"Yeah, I guess we do." Buffy climbed out her window, and Angel moved aside as she joined him on the roof.

"Beautiful night," Angel mused, staring up at the star-filled sky. "Stars…everywhere."

Buffy looked up at the sky. "Yeah, it is beautiful. But I take it that's not what you're here to talk about, is it?"

Angel turned to Buffy and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in, Buffy started talking.

"I know what you're going to say. We kissed. And it was…well, it was a really good kiss. Several good kisses actually. But it doesn't mean we're getting back together. I know that. So you don't have to say anything. You don't have to worry that I thought that kiss was more than it was, because I know that it wasn't." _Even though she wished that it was._

As she spoke, Angel stared at her intently. Buffy tried to read his expression, but she couldn't see anything past his dark eyes.

"I made a mistake," he said.

"Yeah, I know. It was a slip. A second where we both sort of…lost control."

Angel suddenly smiled, and now, Buffy could read his expression. There was laughter in his eyes.

"No, Buffy. I wasn't talking about our kiss. I was talking about me. I hate that I hurt you. I wish I could take it all back."

"Take what back?"

"Everything. Willow was right. She was right about everything."

"Willow? What does Willow have to do with this?"

"She came by the other day, and we talked. I've been thinking about what she said. I spent all this time trying to keep you safe, not wanting anything or anyone to hurt you, and yet, I'm the one who has hurt you the most."

"It's okay, Angel. I forgive you."

"No, it's not okay. It was wrong, and I'm sorry. And I don't have any excuse for it. I guess this just…scares me."

The thought of anything scaring Angel was almost absurd. "What scares you?"

"_This. Us. _I've been arguing with myself ever since I came back to Sunnydale, wondering if I made a mistake when I left you, or if I did the right thing. But I do know one thing for sure. I love you. That's never going to change. And that's what scares me. Loving you is the single, most purest thing I've ever felt. And it's powerful, more powerful than the both of us, and knowing what that could lead to…"

"I'm scared too," Buffy said softly. "But the thought of living my life without you in it is the most terrifying thing of all. When I woke up from the coma, I was scared. I was confused. But then I saw you sitting there by my side, and I knew right then I was going to be okay. If you leave me again…I don't…I don't know how I would handle that."

"I still don't know why you'd want to be with me. We could never have a normal—"

"You don't get to decide what makes me happy, okay? I make that decision, and I choose you. And I don't care if our relationship isn't normal. I don't care if people think it's wrong. All I know is that I love you, and you make me happy. And without you, I'm miserable."

Angel reached over and touched her cheek, moving a strand of hair out of her face. "I'm so sorry I made you cry when I left you."

"It's okay. I forgive you. You were only doing what you thought was right at the time."

"How could I ever think it was right to hurt you like I did?"

Buffy couldn't think of what to say in response to that, but it didn't matter, because Angel was already kissing her.

When he pulled away, Buffy met his gaze, searching his eyes for answers. "Angel, what does this mean? Are we getting back together?"

Angel stared into her eyes; his expression serious. "I want you to be sure this is what you really want."

"What I really want?" Buffy couldn't help but laugh. "Didn't you just hear my little speech about choosing you? Of course I'm sure, Angel."

"You should take time to think about these things."

"I have."

"Have you thought about how I'll never be able to take you out in the sunlight?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't care about that. I'm more of a night owl anyway."

"I'd never be able to give you children."

"Haven't we talked about this before?" Buffy laughed. "Angel, I couldn't take of my goldfish for crying out loud. Do you think I could take care of a _baby_?"

"You'll want children someday, Buffy. I know it seems like so far away in the future, but you will."

"So we'll adopt. There's lots of couples that can't have children, and there's plenty of kids out there that need a good, loving home."

Angel turned away, staring out at the darkness as the world below quietly slept. After a thoughtful pause, he spoke the one thing on his mind the most.

"We'll never be able to make love."

"I know."

Angel turned back to face her. "It won't be easy, and it'll only get harder. Could you honestly handle knowing we could never fully share how we feel? You must think about it."

"Of course I think about it. That one night we had…" Buffy trailed off, not wanting to bring up any painful memories. "It doesn't matter though. Would I be willing to give it up just to have you back in my life again? Absolutely. Without a doubt."

"We haven't even discussed the most obvious obstacle."

"Oh, the vampire thing? I hardly notice. When I look at you, I only see _you_. And I love you just the way you are. My heart doesn't care that you're a vampire. I just want you. That's all I really want."

"So you're sure about this?"

Buffy smiled. "Yes! Are you?"

Angel gave her question thought, and in his heart, he realized he knew the answer all along. He'd always known it. He'd never wanted to leave her in the first place. "I think I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"So does this mean…you're staying?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Buffy's eyes lit up, beaming with happiness. "Do you mean that?"

He leaned forward and answered her question by kissing her.

Buffy closed her eyes, nearly bursting with happiness on the inside as she felt his lips against her own. It felt surreal. For weeks, she'd been trying to convince Angel she was better off with him than without. But Angel had been so stubborn, refusing to see things her way. And then, his walls came crashing down, and he finally gave in. _They were back together._ She would have to thank Willow later, for whatever she might have said to him, it certainly did the trick.

Slowly Angel pulled away, looking towards the eastern horizon. "It'll be dawn soon enough. I should go."

"Or you could stay," Buffy said, holding on to his arm. "You could sleep with me. I mean, not _sleep_ with me," Buffy corrected, suddenly realizing what she had said. "I mean the other kind of sleep. The _actual_ sleep. And anyway, we just got back together. Do you really think I'm letting you go right now?"

Angel gave her a smile.

"Come on." Buffy climbed back through her window, then waited patiently for him to do the same.

Once inside, Angel closed the window, then closed the shades behind them. Buffy got into bed, watching Angel as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. In the dark, she could just make out his figure moving through the room as he kicked off his shoes and draped his coat on the back of a chair.

Finally, he joined her under the covers, and Buffy let out a contented sigh as he drew her into his arms. She nuzzled her face against his neck, breathing him in. She was never sure what it was that made him smell so good…maybe his shampoo or detergent, but he always smelled so wonderful. She missed that.

She kissed his neck impulsively, and Angel turned his head, bringing up her face and kissing her mouth.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered against her lips. "I wish I could make love to you."

"I know. But I'm still happy. I'm so very happy. And remember, you can't be _too_ happy."

He kissed her again, then laid back down, allowing her to rest her head on his chest.

"Do you remember the first time you spent the night in my bedroom?" she suddenly asked.

Angel smiled at the memory. "Yeah. I slept on the floor, and you asked me if I snored."

"Good thing for me you didn't." She turned her head up, staring at Angel as a thought occurred to her. "I didn't snore, did I?"

"Just a little."

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "_What?_"

Angel laughed. "I'm only kidding. You don't snore. Sometimes you talk in your sleep though."

"Ha ha, funny guy. You've…changed."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't remember you having a sense of humor before. What happened to you in L.A.?"

Angel kissed the side of her head, drawing her closer into his arms. "I just missed you. I guess I had to find something to smile about."

* * *

He emerged from the shadows and approached the house for a closer view. A smile came across his face as he looked at the window above him.

He sensed the Slayer inside, tucked in her bed, sleeping peacefully.

Happy.

Warm.

_Safe. _

But not for long.

He'd been keeping watch of her, and though he had been disappointed to learn she still walked the earth, it brought him great pleasure to know he had set her back a few paces.

There were more important things to tend to at the moment than a slayer who refused to die, but she would get hers soon enough. Let her feel safe for a while. Next time, he would make sure the job was finished.

"Soon, Slayer. Very soon."

* * *

A/N: I know I sort of ended this chapter on a creepy note, but I feel like the fluffiness of the rest of the chapter makes up for it! ;)

Yes, Angel and Buffy are back together! They'll still have obstacles, of course, but they're back together! So yay!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, Angel _will_ eventually give her the ring back. I know I could have had him give her the ring back now, but I had already written this really beautiful scene for later in the story in which he gives her the ring back, and I'd hate to take away from that scene!

Thanks for reading everyone! :)


	24. Awkward Much?

A/N: So I think I was on a sugar high when I had the idea for this chapter. I hope it's as funny as it was when I wrote it. Anyway...enjoy!

* * *

The first thought Buffy had upon awakening was that last night had been a dream.

She turned around and smiled, relieved to see Angel's sleeping form in the bed beside her. Last night hadn't been a dream at all.

She studied him for a few moments, just watching him sleep. She realized it wasn't often she got to see Angel sleep. She was amazed at how peaceful and relaxed he could look when he wasn't brooding.

A bird chirping outside reminded her that it was morning, and Buffy suddenly had an idea. She threw the covers off her and started to get up.

A strong arm pulling her back made it impossible to leave.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked.

He had a huge grin on his face, and Buffy tried not to laugh at the bed-head look he had going on.

Angel pulled her closer, and Buffy had no choice but to lay back down next to him. "I was thinking about breakfast," she said, leaning forward and kissing him. "Good morning."

"Yes, it is."

Buffy smiled. "I thought since you made me breakfast the last time, it's my turn now."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "You…cook?"

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, I make a mean bowl of cereal. Actually, I was going to go pick something up. Something for both of us."

"Buffy, you don't have to…"

"No, I want to. It's not like I haven't done it before. Besides, if _Cordelia_ does it for you, surely your _girlfriend_ should do it too. And when's the last time you've had something to eat anyway?"

"A while."

"Okay, so it's settled then. You just stay inside out of the sunshine and I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"You promise to make that a quick twenty minutes?"

"I promise."

Angel loosened his grip on her. "Okay."

Buffy leaned forward, kissing him once more. "Just make yourself at home. Go back to sleep if you want. Or take a shower. Whatever you feel like. I'll be back soon."

"I'll be counting the minutes."

* * *

Buffy felt herself in a dream-like state on the way to the butcher's shop. _Angel loved her._ Of course, she always knew that, but something had changed between the two of them last night.

_They were back together._

Okay, so they wouldn't be jumping each other bones anytime soon, or…ever. But that didn't matter. He was back in her life, and for the first time since awakening from her coma, Buffy finally felt the dark cloud hanging over her disappear, and she felt alive.

_Alive._

She had almost died. The realization hit her like a brick wall.

She was back on patrol duty. Tonight, she'd put on her patrol clothes and gather her stakes, and she'd seek out the dark forces in the world, the very same forces that had nearly killed her.

A small part of her was nervous. What if something were to go wrong? She had breezed through high school, taking everything the world could throw at her, and in the end, she was a survivor. But her stint in the hospital had been a major wake up call. _She was not invincible._

She was still human, and unfortunately, she could still die.

Was she ready to get back in the game? Angel said she was. But the question was…did she believe that herself?

* * *

Tara heard the shower running as she knocked on the door. She didn't wait for an answer before she opened it. "Hey, Willow?"

Just as Tara walked in, the shower turned off and the curtain pulled back.

"Did I leave my hairbrush—"

It wasn't Willow.

"Oh-oh my god!" Tara covered her eyes and made a beeline to the door, quickly closing it behind her. "Angel, I-I'm so sorry! I-I thought you were Willow!"

Tara leaned against the closed bathroom door, mentally kicking herself for barging in on him. _"Oh my god!" _she whispered to Angel could come out of the bathroom any moment, and not wanting to die of even more embarrassment, she rushed down the stairs.

She found Willow downstairs leaning against the counter in her robe, apparently waiting as the coffee percolated. Willow turned to her and smiled. "Good morning, honey."

"No, not good morning!"

Willow frowned, picking up on Tara's strange mood. "What's wrong?"

Tara walked over to Willow and whispered. "I just walked in on Angel."

"Angel's here?"

"Without any clothes on."

Willow's eyes widened. "_What? _Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah, pretty sure. I mean, he _was_ in the shower."

"Oh, _shower!_ I thought you meant he and Buffy were…never mind. I didn't realize Angel was here. I thought that was Buffy in the shower."

"I thought it was _you_ in the shower! Oh, god, Willow, I walked in on him when he was coming out! And I saw _everything!_" Tara's face turned red as she collapsed onto the barstool, burying her head in the crook of her arms. "This is so embarrassing!"

Willow sat down beside her, running her hand through Tara's hair. "Oh, Tara, don't feel too bad. It was a just an accident. It could have happened to anybody. I'm sure it was more embarrassing for you than it was for him. In fact, I bet he's not even thinking about it anymore."

Tara looked up. "If someone walked in on _you _in the shower, do you think you could just forget about it?"

"Well, no, probably not. I'd be really embarrassed. But you're forgetting something: Angel's a guy. Look, I've been best friends with Xander for as long as I can remember, so I know a thing or two about the male species. When it comes to people seeing them naked, they don't really care that much. I mean, they pee in front of each other for crying out loud!"

A little smile formed on Tara's mouth, but as soon as she started to feel better about the situation, another thought occurred to her. "Oh god. How am I going to face him? And what if he's not like other guys? He is different, you know, and not just the vampire thing. But he's sort of…quiet. What if he can't even look at me?" Tara buried her head in her arms, feeling flustered again.

The back door swung open, and Buffy walked in carrying a box and paper bag. "Good morning!" she chirped.

"Look's like someone's in a really good mood," Willow said, grinning.

Buffy put the breakfast items down and smiled at Willow. "Oh, Willow, thank you!" She hugged Willow, and Willow laughed.

"For what?"

Buffy pulled away, her eyes gleaming with happiness. "I have some really good news."

"Let me guess. You and Angel got back together?"

"How'd you know?"

Willow shrugged. "Just a hunch."

"Will, I don't know what you—Tara, are you alright?"

Tara brought her head up from the counter and turned to Buffy. "I didn't mean to barge in. I swear I didn't know it was Angel in there!"

Buffy shook her head, not understanding.

"She walked in on Angel coming out of the shower," Willow explained.

"Oh god," Tara moaned, blushing again. She pointed to the box on the counter. "Are those donuts?" Tara picked up the box and rushed off to the dining room.

"She's just a little embarrassed," Willow whispered.

"I'm sorry. I guess I should have told you guys Angel was here, but he came over so late last night and I got up early this morning before either of you were awake."

"You have to tell me details!" Willow took hold of Buffy's hand and lead her to the barstools.

"Okay! So last night, we were sparring and Angel was showing me some defensive moves. It was just old times. And then, I don't know what came over him. I was laying on the floor, and he had me sort of pinned down."

"He had you…pinned down?"

"Yeah. And he was just staring at me for the longest time. Then before I knew what was happening, he was kissing me."

Willow squealed.

"I know! I was…kind of surprised."

"What kind of kiss? Like a little quick kiss or like an 'I've got to have you now' sort of kiss?"

"Definitely the latter, and multiple times actually."

Willow squealed again.

"Then he walked me home, and he kissed me goodnight. I didn't think I'd ever get to sleep. I kept thinking about him."

"So then Angel came back over later?"

"Yeah. Later that night. He came to my window and we sat out on the roof and talked. Will, I don't know what you said to him, but whatever it was, it really made him think about things."

"I just told him what a bonehead he was being keeping his distance from you. Not in those exact words, of course," Willow quickly added.

"All the same…thanks, Will."

"Oh, hi, Angel," Willow said, looking over Buffy's shoulder.

Angel gave her a little smile. "Good morning."

Willow stood up to leave. She slowly backed up, smiling at the two. "I'll just uh…go see if Tara saved me any donuts." Willow turned around and left the room.

Buffy rose from her chair and walked over to Angel, wrapping her arms around his waist and tilting her chin to face him. "Hi."

"Hi," he said softly before kissing her.

Buffy slowly pulled away from the kiss, taking a moment to breathe in his shower-fresh body. "You smell like my shampoo."

"I took a shower."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"Next time, I'll make sure the door is locked."

"Would it be wrong to say I'm a little jealous of Tara right now?"

A smile formed on Angel's mouth. "Well maybe next time I take a shower, you could join me," he whispered.

They stared at each other for a moment, both considering the possibility.

"No, we couldn't do that," they said in unison as they quickly pulled away from each other.

"So, breakfast?" Buffy said, quickly changing the subject. She walked over to the counter and grabbed the bag from the butcher's shop. "You know what's funny? The butcher doesn't even bat an eye when someone asks for a quart of pig's blood anymore."

"I guess he's used to it."

"You like it heated up, right?" Buffy opened the cabinet and attempted to grab a coffee mug on the top shelf. She turned back to Angel, smiling. "I can't reach it."

Angel grabbed the mug with no effort at all. "I don't want to use your nice coffee cups for…this."

"Oh don't worry, you're not. Why do you think we keep those on the top shelf? Three women live in this house and we're all very short."

"Is the coffee ready yet?" Tara asked as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped in her tracks, realizing Angel was standing in front of her. "Oh, Angel. Hi. Um, about earlier? Again, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't know you were in there!"

"It's okay, Tara."

"No, it's not okay. I mean, I-I really shouldn't barge into the bathroom like that. It's rude and all. And usually I'm not the kind of person who barges into the bathroom when someone is in there. But I thought you were Willow. And Willow never minds if I come in." Tara's cheeks grew red, feeling embarrassed again.

"Tara, really, it's okay. Don't give it a second thought."

"Okay," Tara said nervously, knowing that giving it a second thought would be next to impossible. She started to leave the kitchen, then turned back around. "Oh, I came in here for coffee. I'll just uh…get some for me and Willow."

Tara quickly poured coffee into two mugs and made a hasty exit.

"I think she's more embarrassed than I was," Angel whispered.

At the table, Tara placed the two cups of coffee on the table and shot daggers at Willow. "Why did you ask me to get the coffee? Angel was in there!"

"You're still embarrassed about that?" Willow asked, taking a bite of a glazed donut.

"Of course I'm still embarrassed about it!" Tara sank down in her chair.

"Did Angel seem embarrassed?"

"Well, no, not really. But it's sort of hard to tell with him. Vampires don't exactly get red in the face."

"Hey, relax, okay? I'm sure the shower incident is that furthest thing from his mind by now. What did he say, Tara?"

"He said not to give it a second thought."

"So don't!" Willow said, smiling.

"Easy for you to say."

Willow pushed the open box of donuts over to her. "Here. Have another donut."

Back in the kitchen, Angel watched as Buffy poured the blood in the mug and placed it in the microwave.

"It doesn't even seem to faze you," he said.

"I guess I'm used to it, too. How long?"

"A minute and a half should be fine."

Buffy set the timer on the microwave and turned around, catching Angel's smile. "What?"

"You're amazing."

"Well, it's not exactly rocket science." Buffy pointed at the rotating mug behind her. "I just pushed a few buttons."

Angel took a step closer, placing his arms around hers. "I wasn't talking about that, although watching you microwave is pretty amazing too."

"You should see me microwave popcorn then."

Angel leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

"Oh, don't mind me," Willow said as she walked back into the kitchen.

They pulled apart briefly at Willow's arrival.

"Tara forgot the sugar." Willow grabbed the sugar packets and left again.

They resumed their kiss, only to be interrupted by the microwave moments later. Buffy reluctantly pulled away, taking the steaming mug out. "I hope it's okay."

She handed him the mug and Angel took a sip. He nodded. "It's perfect."

Buffy smiled. "Guess I can make a mean cup of blood too. Now…for me. I need coffee."

While Buffy went about pouring herself a cup, Angel wandered into the dining room.

Willow looked up, noticing him standing in the doorway.

"You can join us, Angel," Willow said.

Tara shot Willow a look across the table, but Willow didn't notice.

Angel shook his head. "That's okay."

Willow eyed the coffee mug in his hand, understanding his hesitation. "Oh, you don't want to drink blood in front of us?"

"Not that it bothers me, but sometimes it makes humans feel a little uncomfortable."

"We don't care, Angel," Willow said. "It's nothing we haven't seen before."

"Alright," Angel relented, walking over to the table to join the girls.

Tara looked down at her coffee, unable to look him in the eye.

Moments later, Buffy joined them. Tara watched as Buffy sat down beside Angel, scooting her chair closer to his. Angel happened to look across the table right at her, and Tara quickly looked away again, taking a large bite out of the donut in her hand.

Tara tried to avoid making any more eye-contact with Angel, still embarrassed about the awkward shower incident. She soon zoned out, unable to concentrate on the conversation that drifted around her.

After several minutes had passed, Willow rose from her seat, picking up her nearly empty cup of coffee. "Well, I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a shower now."

Tara's cheeks promptly turned red again.

"Thanks for the donuts, Buffy."

Buffy turned to Angel and smiled. "I may not know how to cook, but I know how to buy a delicious unhealthy breakfast!"

The phone suddenly rang, and Tara stood to her feet. "Oh, phone's ringing! I'll get it!" She rushed out of the dining room to answer it.

Willow stood behind Angel, leaning forward. "She's still a little embarrassed about the whole shower incident," she explained.

* * *

Wesley went into the kitchen for another cup of tea. He noticed Cordelia at the table on her cell phone, mid-conversation.

"Oh, so he _is_ there? Well, that's nice of him to let us know!…No, that's okay. I don't need to talk to him. I was just wondering where he was. Tara, are you okay? You sound kind of, I don't know, distracted….Okay, well thanks."

Cordelia ended the call and looked up at Wesley. "Well, just as I suspected. He spent the night at Buffy's! I told you they were getting back together."

* * *

"Hey, Xander?" Anya called from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"Bring up that other box too."

"Uh, which one, An?"

"The heavy one!"

"Uh…they're all heavy!"

"Well, the heaviest one then! The one next to the shelf!"

"Okay…got it!"

As Anya returned to her place behind the counter, the bell above the door jingled, and a flustered Tara walked in.

She marched to the front, flopped her bag on the counter, and sank down in the chair while burying her face in her arms.

"Bad morning?"

Tara looked up at Anya. "The worst! I had to get out of the house. Every time I turn around, he's in front of me! And it's a sunny day so it's not exactly like he's going anywhere!"

"Who?"

"Angel!"

Anya shook her head, not understanding.

"I walked in on Angel this morning, and he was _completely naked_!"

"He was…naked?" Anya asked, her curiosity piqued.

Xander stormed out of the storeroom. "He was _what? _What's Angel doing over there and why the hell is he _naked_?"

"Oh, he and Buffy are back together," Tara said with a dismissive wave.

Xander threw down box he was holding. "That's it! I've had it! I didn't say anything about Dead Boy before, but I'm saying something now! This is _exactly_ what I was afraid would happen!"

"That Buffy and Angel would get back together?" Anya asked.

"I know you both weren't here two years ago, but you know the story of what happened when Buffy and Angel slept together, right?"

"Oh! No, they weren't sleeping together, Xander. He was coming out of the shower and I walked in on him."

"But you said they're back together."

Tara nodded. "Yeah, looks that way."

"Which will inevitably, lead to them sleeping together! I've got to stop this. Apparently last year's not the only thing Buffy's forgotten!"

Anya watched Xander storm out of the shop then turned back to Tara, as if she hadn't noticed Xander's tirade at all. "So, is he well-endowed at least?"

Tara, with her jaw dropped, looked at Anya as if she couldn't believed she asked that question.

"What? I'm just curious. Just because I'm with Xander doesn't mean I don't still appreciate a good-sized penis."

* * *

Although every shade and curtain in the house was closed, being a vampire, Angel still preferred one room over the others: the basement.

It was dark. It was quiet. And not only that, it provided a great space for an impromptu tai chi lesson.

Angel moved to stand behind Buffy, taking hold of her arms as she moved them through the air. "Slower. Like this." Angel moved her arms at a slower pace, guiding her through the pose.

Buffy turned around, tilting her chin and gazing up at him.

"Slower," Angel repeated as he moved closer to her, kissing her softly.

"_Buffy!"_

Buffy reluctantly pulled away from his lips.

"_Buff?"_

Buffy sighed. "Down here, Xander!"

Seconds later, the basement door opened, and Xander ran down the stairs, taking each step with a loud thud.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"Can I talk to you?" Xander glanced over her shoulder at Angel. "Alone?"

Buffy looked back at Angel.

"I'll wait here for you," he said.

"I'll be just a minute."

Buffy followed him up the stairs and into the kitchen. "So, what's up?" she asked as she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"You want to tell me what you're doing?" Xander asked in a calm voice.

"Staying hydrated?" she quipped, holding up the water.

"You know that's not what I mean."

"Okay. Obviously you're upset about something. What's the matter?"

"Tara said you and Angel were back together."

"Oh, I see." Buffy uncapped the water and sat down on the barstool.

"Well…_are you_?"

"Yes, Angel and I are back together."

Xander took the chair beside her. "Look, I know you love the guy, but do you really think this is such a good idea?"

Buffy sighed. "Are we really going to have this conversation again?"

"Yeah, Buff, I think we really are, because the last time we had this conversation, I don't think it quite sunk in! You do remember what happened two years ago, right? Or did your memory conveniently block that out, too?"

"No, of course not. I understand that we can't exactly have a normal relationship, and I'm okay with that. Believe it or not, Xander, not everyone thinks of sex 24/7 like you do. I do have a little self-control!"

"Self-control? Sure. Like that time when Angel came back from Hell and you'd sneak off to suck-face with him every chance you got?"

"So we got back together. Big deal! But we never let it get too far and you know it."

"And what happens when you do?"

Buffy slammed her water bottle on the counter and stood to her feet. "Why do you _always_ do this, Xander? I'm not asking you to like Angel! I know you two have never gotten along and that's fine! But I'd just like a little support from one of my very best friends. I can't believe after all this time, you still don't trust me to make the right choice for myself."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Buff. I'm just worried about you. Yeah, I don't like Angel very much, but it's a little hard for me to support this relationship knowing what he is and what he's capable of. I know he's Angel to you now, but you can't forget the monster he is underneath the surface."

"Oh you're one to talk! Isn't your girlfriend some sort of ex-vengeance demon?"

"That's different."

"No, it's actually quite the same. Anya's changed, hasn't she? She's good now, right?"

"She's not evil if that's what you're asking."

"So why can't you see that Angel is the same way?"

"He may be good now, but he can just as easily turn again. And at least Anya never tried to kill me."

"Then you'd better be good and not break up with her. I'd hate to see her go to the dark side again. Didn't she turn her last ex-boyfriend into a troll?"

Xander held his hands up. "Okay, that's fine. Point taken." He stood to his feet and walked over to Buffy. "But this doesn't mean I'm going to stop worrying about you. I don't want him to hurt you again."

"Xander, I love how you're always looking out for me. Ever since I've known you, you've always had my back. I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't saved my life. But Angel saved me too. Can't you see he wants the same thing you want?"

"I'll be forever grateful that he saved your life. But like I said, I don't want to see you get hurt again. And look, I know you say that you know what you're doing, but that doesn't mean things can't get out of control."

"I know, Xander. Sometimes things happen, and if they do, we'll deal. But for now, you've got to trust me that I know what I'm doing. And I promise I won't do anything intentionally to put you guys in danger. You all forget that what happened to Angel wasn't entirely his fault. I was the one who made the first move. I alone felt responsible for bringing that upon all of you. Do you really think I'd want that to happen again?"

Xander shook his head. "No, I know you don't."

"So are you going to trust me?"

"You know if he ever does hurt you again, I won't hesitate to do bodily harm to him."

The corner of Buffy's mouth lifted, and then she laughed.

"What?"

"I'm just picturing you trying to do bodily harm to Angel."

"Hey, I may not having supernatural strength, but I could definitely take him."

Buffy smiled. "Okay, if you say so."

"Yeah, I say so."

"So, are we good?"

"Yeah." Xander moved forward, pulling Buffy towards him and hugging her tightly. "Just promise you'll come to me if something bad happens."

"Okay," she whispered.


	25. Back In The Game

Willow walked into the kitchen, smiling at Angel as he leaned against the sink.

"Buffy says she'll be ready in just a minute."

Angel nodded.

Willow walked over to Angel, taking a seat at the barstool. "Angel, I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier, but I'm really glad you decided to make things work with Buffy."

"The truth is, Willow, I've been thinking about it for a while. It just took you saying it aloud for it to finally make sense."

"Well Buffy is positively floating right now. I'm happy you two are back together, no matter what Xander says. You just have to ignore him sometimes."

Angel let out a small laugh. "He's just looking out for Buffy. I can't blame the guy for that."

"So…big patrol night, huh?"

"Yeah."

"You don't think you'll run into any more of those warrior vampires, do you?"

Angel shrugged. "I don't know. We might."

"Hey, I'm ready!" Buffy said as she appeared in the doorway. "See, I've got all my little stakes and everything." Buffy showed off the stake hidden in her pocket.

"Well, I guess we should be heading on."

Willow followed the two as they made their way to the front door.

"And you've got your cell phone charged, right?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Yeah, it's…oh, I left it on the table!" Buffy walked over to the living room to retrieve her phone.

"Angel? I know Buffy is pretty good at taking care of herself. But just…keep her safe, will you?"

"I won't let anything happen to her," he promised.

* * *

"Quiet night," Angel remarked as he followed Buffy through the maze of tombstones. This was the second cemetery they had patrolled tonight and not one vampire had been in sight, other than him, of course.

Buffy stopped and turned around, giving Angel a smile. "You realize what you just did, don't you?"

Angel shook his head in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You just jinxed it. Now it's going to be anything but a quiet night."

Angel grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Buffy smiled at him again. "It's okay. I'm up for a challenge. Let's take the shortcut through here."

As they turned the corner, Angel felt a sense of déjà vu. _He'd been here before. _

He'd seen that gravestone before too.

He could still smell her blood on it.

"Let's patrol somewhere else," Angel said abruptly.

"Why? We haven't even made it to the crypt yet. That's a popular place for vampires to hide."

"Let's just patrol somewhere else, okay?" Angel insisted, turning around and going back the other way.

"Wait." Buffy stopped and looked around, feeling something familiar about this place. She wasn't sure what it was, but if Angel's sudden shift in mood was any indication, she had a pretty good idea. "This is where you found me, isn't it?"

He wasn't going to mention it, but since she asked, he supposed he should tell her. "Yeah. Did you remember something?"

"No, not really. I just had a feeling that something bad happened to me here. Let's check out around the Bronze."

Buffy took his arm, letting him lead her away from the area. She looked behind her shoulder for a brief moment, staring at the gravestones as they walked away. She tried to remember being here, but all her mind came up with was another missing piece of the puzzle.

"Are you okay?"

Buffy turned to face him, nodding. "Yeah, I'm okay. I was just thinking how you must have felt when you saw—a vampire standing behind you."

Angel reacted quickly and took the vampire off guard, throwing him against a headstone. Before the lone vampire could even get his bearings, Angel drove a stake through his heart.

"How rude of him," Buffy said. "He interrupted our conversation."

"You were saying?" he asked casually, as if the vampire was just a small nuisance.

Buffy took his arm again and walked with him out of the cemetery. "I was saying that I was thinking of what it must have been like for you. When you found me? Must have been pretty scary."

_More terrifying then you'll ever know_, he thought.

* * *

The Magic Box was quiet at this time of night. Anya had already closed up shop, and without customers coming in and out, they could read without any interruptions.

Cordelia looked around the room, noticing it was just the girls here. "Hey, where's Giles? Isn't he usually around here helping us research?"

"He said he was going home to research and have a cup of tea," Anya answered. "His exact words. He's always having tea."

"I think I've read this one already," Tara said, closing a book and exchanging it for another one.

"I know," Willow said, closing her book as well. "They all start to look alike after a while. Maybe we should take a break."

Cordelia closed her book and pushed it away. "I'm all for that."

"Good, then we should gossip!" Anya suggested. "Because that's what women our age do, right? We gossip? So, I'll start. What was the deal with Angel in the shower this morning?"

Cordelia's eyes grew wide. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh no, not this again," Tara said as she pushed her chair away from the table.

Willow tried to suppress her laughter. "Tara walked in on Angel coming out of the shower."

"And I don't want to talk about it anymore," Tara said, coming back to the table with more books.

"Neither of us realized Angel had spent the night."

"So Angel and Buffy are really back together, huh?" Cordelia asked.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, looks like it."

"Xander's still pouting about it," Anya said.

"Xander will get over it," Willow said.

"Well I can't say I was surprised this happened," Cordelia said. "I knew it was just a matter of time, and I hadn't seen Angel all day. I knew something had to be up. So, where are the lovebirds anyway?"

"They took a break from lip-locking long enough to go for a patrol," Willow said with a smile.

"So how's that going to work?" Anya asked. "Angel lives in L.A., and Buffy's here in Sunnydale. That's like a two hour drive just to see each other every day. Someone's going to have to move. I couldn't stand to be that far away from Xander, even if it is only two hours."

"Well, the Hellmouth needs a slayer," Willow said. "So I guess that leaves Angel. But Angel can be anywhere though."

"So wait, what will this mean for you and Wesley?" Tara asked, turning to Cordelia. "If Angel stays here, what will happen to _Angel Investigations_? Will you stay in Sunnydale too, or will you go back to L.A.?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I'm not really sure. We haven't really talked about it. I think I'll just wait and see how this whole Buffy/Angel thing plays out. I mean, who really knows? By the end of the summer, they could break up again."

Willow turned to Cordelia. "No, don't say that!"

"Well come on, Willow, it's kind of their thing. Get together, break up, get back together, break up again. I see a pattern."

"Technically they only broke up once," Willow said. "The rest of the time, circumstances just tore them apart."

_Not to mention last Thanksgiving_, Cordelia thought. "Truth be told, Angel moving back to Sunnydale may not even matter. If my visions continue to be MIA, it might be the end of _Angel Investigations_ anyway. You know, it's weird, but in a strange sort of way, I kind of miss them. Wait, I take that back. I don't miss them. Not that I mind helping people but afterwards…"

"The Powers are probably just taking a vacation," Anya said. "I mean, everyone needs a vacation, right? Even higher beings I imagine."

"I don't think it would be the end of _Angel Investigations_," Willow said. "Maybe you wouldn't have your visions, but you'd just have to go about helping people in other ways. Like magic for instance. We could even teach you a few spells if you want. Some of them are really useful. Like sometimes when we're looking for—oh my god!" Willow abruptly stood up and raced over to the bookshelf. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner!"

"Think of what?" Tara asked.

"I know how to find Maleficus!"

Willow ran her finger along the spines of the books. "Just a minute. Let me find where that book...Ahh! Here it is!" Willow grabbed the book and headed back to her seat. "We can do a locator spell!"

"For vampires?" Anya asked.

Tara frowned. "I'm not sure how that would work, Willow. If you do a locator spell for every vampire in Sunnydale—"

"You're going to get a lot of hits," Cordelia finished.

Willow flipped through the book and found the page she was looking for. "Not if we do the modified version." She looked up from the book, grinning widely. "You girls want to help?"

* * *

Willow, Tara, Anya, and Cordelia sat crossed-legged on the floor in a circle; candles and a map of Sunnydale in the middle.

"Light those candles, Tara," Willow instructed as she handed her the lighter.

"So how does this work again?" Cordelia asked.

"When I do the incantation and Thespia is called, a light should appear over the map. If it works, it'll show us where Maleficus is located. For the moment anyway."

Willow went about sprinkling powder around the map until the paper was enclosed in a circle.

"Candles are lit," Tara said.

"Good. Let's join hands," Willow suggested, taking Tara's right hand and Anya's left. "If we combine our energies, the spell will be stronger, especially if we all concentrate on finding Maleficus."

Willow closed her eyes and began.

"_Thespia, we walk in shadow, walk in blindness. You are the protector of the night. Thespia, goddess, ruler of all darkness, we implore you, open a window to the world of the undead. Seek the one who calls himself 'Maleficus'. With your knowledge may we go in safety. With your grace may we speak of your benevolence." _

Willow opened her eyes, and before them appeared a small sphere of blue light.

Willow laughed. "Look at that! It worked!"

The girls watched as the blue light began making slow circles around the edges of the map.

"What's it doing?" Cordelia asked.

"It's locating," Willow said. "Once it finds where Maleficus is hiding, it'll float down to that location on the map."

The ball continued its revolution a few more times before drifting to the center of the map, too high to pinpoint any one location.

"Just give it a minute," Willow said, looking around. "I think it's getting closer."

The little bubble of light suddenly popped, showering beads of light down on the map before fizzling out.

"That's it?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't think it's supposed to do that," Anya said.

"Maybe you did the spell wrong," Cordelia said to Willow.

Tara looked at Willow. "No, I don't think you did it wrong, Willow."

Willow shook her head. "No, maybe I did. You're right, Anya, it's not supposed to do that. Maybe we should try it again."

* * *

After a quick sweep around the Bronze, Buffy and Angel headed to another cemetery. There, they found their second vampire for the night. Then a third and a fourth.

It hadn't occurred to Buffy until they saw the fifth vampire that she hadn't actually done any slaying at all.

The first vampire Angel took out without hesitating.

The second vampire started in on Buffy, and Angel finished him off.

The third and fourth vampire attacked the pair together, but it was Angel who delivered the final blow to each of them.

Maybe it had been coincidence, she thought as her fingers wrapped around her stake. But this vampire who was fighting her now? He was all hers.

"I've got it!" Angel said, pulling the vampire off Buffy and promptly turning him to dust.

Angel dusted his hands and turned to Buffy. "Are you okay?" he asked her, his eyes full of concern.

"I'm fine. He barely touched me."

"Good. Let's sweep this area one more time then patrol one of the other cemeteries."

Buffy reluctantly fell in line behind him. "What do you think you're doing back there?"

It was the tone in her voice that gave Angel pause. "Is something…wrong?"

"Yes, something's wrong!" she spat out, anger in her eyes. "I'm not making any progress!"

"What do you mean? We dusted five vampires in nearly two hours. I say that's doing pretty good."

"No, _we_ haven't dusted any. _You_ have! Look at me! I haven't even worked up a sweat. I've barely had time to practice any new moves. And more importantly, I haven't thought of any witty puns!" Buffy, finished with her rant, sat down on a nearby headstone and pouted.

"I guess I have sort of taken over this, huh?"

"Yeah, you sort of have. I don't understand, Angel. You're the one person who doesn't treat me like I'm some little girl who needs protecting, but all of a sudden, you're not letting me fight at all. What was all that training for anyway? I thought you said I was ready."

Angel sat down beside her on the gravestone. "Buffy, I'm sorry. You _are_ ready, and I didn't intend for you to think I thought otherwise. I hadn't realized what I was doing tonight. I know you can hold your own out here, and I don't doubt you can protect yourself. It's just I keep picturing you on the ground unconscious, bleeding out by that headstone we passed earlier. I'd give anything to have that never happen to you again."

Despite the fact that Buffy was a little miffed at his behavior, she gave him a smile. "Angel, I love that you want to protect me and keep me safe, but I have to fight my own battles. I have to know that I can do this again. I'm the Slayer. I _have _to fight. If I can't be the slayer I was before…"

"You can, Buffy. You can do this again."

"So let me. Okay?"

"You can't ask me to never worry about you."

"I'm not asking you to never worry about me, Angel. I want someone to look out for me, but only when I need it. I just need to know you've got my back."

"I'll always have your back."

Buffy smiled. "Good. So we're on the same page?"

Angel nodded. "Yes, we are."

"You know it goes both ways, right?"

"What does?"

"The worrying. I have your back too. Always."

"Maybe we should get back to patrolling then?" Angel suggested.

Buffy nodded, standing up. "Yeah."

"I actually meant right now," Angel said, indicating somewhere over Buffy's shoulder.

"We have company, huh?"

A new vampire, fresh out of the grave, was making his way over to her.

Buffy turned around and staked the vamp, who put up very little resistance.

"That was too easy," Buffy said, frowning. "Guess he hadn't had his nightly cup of blood yet."

Angel smiled. "Then let's go find one that's a little more challenging," he said.

Buffy took his hand and walked with him. "Not too challenging though," she said softly.

"Don't worry. I've got your back, remember?"

Buffy leaned against his arm, smiling. It was so good to have Angel back.

* * *

A/N: I wanted to explain Angel for a moment. I hope I haven't portrayed Angel like he thinks Buffy is weak or that she can't protect herself, because he doesn't. Angel knows that Buffy can take care of herself. And he also knows that she's quite capable of kicking some serious vampire butt. It's just that when he walked past that spot where he found her, he was reminded again of how close he came to losing her, hence the overwhelming need to suddenly protect her. So that's what that was all about. But Buffy set him straight, and next time, he won't be as controlling.

Now, regarding Willow and her magic: This is season four Willow, and I feel that she's still in her early stages of magic learning. She's more advanced than she was before, but she hasn't quite reached the level of de-ratting Amy yet. Tara's sort of in the same place. She knows probably about as much magic as Willow does, but as she's stated before, Willow seems to advance a lot quicker. As for the locator spell, I haven't really paid much attention to how they're done on the show, but I wanted to put my own spin on things anyway, so if it seems different, that's why. Also, I borrowed some dialogue from "Goodbye Iowa" from a spell Willow and Tara were doing, because I, unlike Willow and Tara, don't know anything about magic, lol.

As for Cordelia…there's really no particular reason why she hasn't had any visions lately. She's had breaks in visions before on the show. It's certainly not the end of them.

Until 26…thanks for reading everyone! :)


	26. A Well Oiled Machine

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence."

"Good morning, Cordy," Angel said as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning."

"It's a beautiful morning, isn't it? Not that I've been outside or anything. But it feels like it's a beautiful morning outside."

"Oh god," Cordelia moaned.

Angel walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, oblivious to Cordelia rolling her eyes, then joined her at the table.

"So, I heard you and Buffy were back together. And look, before you say anything, I'm not going to give you grief about it. I'm actually okay with it, just as long as you two don't get all groiny with each other. But don't you think parading around naked at her house is just asking for trouble?"

"_What? _I wasn't parading around naked! Who said that I was?"

"Good morning all," Wesley said, walking into the kitchen.

"Morning," Cordelia said.

"I wasn't parading around," Angel whispered. "I was in the shower!"

Wesley stared at the stove for a moment, seeing the empty tea kettle. "You didn't make tea?" he asked, turning to Cordelia.

"Of course not, British boy! Here in America, coffee is the morning beverage of choice!"

Angel smiled. "Buffy likes coffee."

"Oh god," Cordelia moaned again. "Nothing worse than a lovesick vampire."

"I was a fool before. I don't know why I ever thought things would be better for her if I left."

"So you two are really back together?" Wesley asked as he joined them at the table.

Angel smiled. "Yeah, we're really back together. Look, I don't know what this is going to mean for us now. Obviously I'm going to be staying in Sunnydale for a while. I know this is all a little…unexpected."

"I wouldn't exactly say it was unexpected," Cordelia said, smiling. "I totally saw this coming."

"Well I didn't," Angel said. "Getting back together with Buffy wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I came back to Sunnydale. I've spent months trying to shut off my feelings for her. But it's as if the more I tried to forget her, the harder it was to stay away."

"The heart wants what it wants," Wesley said with a smile.

"I was fooling myself to think I could stay away from her."

"Angel, while I'm thrilled for you and Buffy, I can't help but feel, well, a little concerned," Wesley stammered. "Your curse…"

"He wants to know if you plan to get physical," Cordelia finished for him. "And frankly, I'm a little concerned about that myself."

"You guys, I do have a little self-control! It's not like I think about Buffy and I together that way all the time." _Or at least he tried not to._

* * *

"We tried the spell three times!" Willow said as she handed Giles the spell book the next morning. "Page twenty-three. And every time, same thing happened! The little ball of light went to the middle of the map, then _poof!_ So, you know a little about magic, Giles. Do you think I did the spell wrong?"

Giles straightened his glasses as he examined the text. "No, it doesn't appear the spell was done incorrectly. Perhaps Maleficus simply doesn't want to be found."

"You mean like some sort of cloaking spell?"

"Perhaps."

"Maybe this is wishful thinking, but could he possibly not be in Sunnydale anymore?" Buffy suggested, overhearing their conversation.

Willow turned to Buffy, shaking her head. "No, if that were the case, the light would have moved off the map." Willow stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. "I'll see if I can find some sort of counter-spell."

"Thanks for trying, Willow."

"We'll find him, Buffy. One way or the other."

"My guess is he's hiding somewhere near the Hellmouth," Buffy said. "Not that I plan to go seek him out or anything, or at least not until we exactly know _who_ we're dealing with. Hey, Giles, any progress on that front?"

"Well, we've narrowed down the list some, but unfortunately, the suspect list is still rather long."

"So more research, huh?"

"Yes, afraid so. How was patrol last night?" Giles asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, you know, the usual. We ended up dusting eight vamps before the night was over, which isn't really odd for Sunnydale."

"Only vampires?"

"Yeah. Nothing…demony. Just a lot of vamps. Of the regular variety that is. No vamps on steroids or anything."

Giles looked at her in confusion.

"The warrior vamps? The ones with all the super strength?"

"Yes, of course. Speaking of strength…shall we begin our training session?"

"Now?" Buffy whined, but followed Giles to the training room anyway.

"You have to remain on top of your game, Buffy."

"I find it hard to be on top of anything until I've had at least two cups of coffee. And I just realized how that sentence sounded. Training now?" Buffy smiled widely.

Giles opened the weapons cabinet and handed Buffy a sword. "We'll use this today."

"Hey, Giles? There's uh…something I should probably tell you. And if I don't tell you, you'll just hear it from someone else, and you'd probably rather hear it from me. I don't want any secrets to be between us."

Giles glanced at her with a furrowed brow. "Is something wrong, Buffy?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Buffy took a deep breath. "It's just that…Angel and I are seeing each other again. We, you know, tried the break-up thing for a while. Decided it wasn't for us. So we got back together."

Giles turned back to the weapons cabinet and picked out several knives.

"I just thought you should know. And we're not going to do anything…you know. We're going to be careful. We already have one apocalypse on our hands. We don't need another one by bringing out Angelus."

Giles closed the weapons cabinet and began setting up for their training session.

"Okay, this is the part where you say words, Giles."

He placed the weapons on a nearby table, then turned to Buffy. "I'm glad that you told me."

"But you're not exactly thrilled about it, are you?"

"I've long since realized I have no control over your personal life, Buffy, but I can't help but caution you when it comes to Angel. The risks—"

"I know. You don't have to tell me. I've heard it all before. Just trust me, Giles, okay? Trust that I'm well aware of what Angel and I are doing."

"I do trust you, Buffy. But I worry about you."

"You don't need to worry about me."

"I worry that Angel will be a distraction, and with Maleficus out there—"

"He's not a distraction. If anything, having him keep his distance was an even bigger distraction." Buffy sat down on the bench and stared up at him. "Do you have any idea what it's like to lose a year of your life? To wake up and not remember what's happened in the last twelve months?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

"I don't know what I was like before my accident. Maybe I felt like I was over Angel. Maybe I was in a place where I felt like I could start to move on with someone else. But then someone pressed the rewind button on my life, and I'm back at the beginning. I lost my mom. Angel left me. Everyone and everything around me was just…different. And for a while there, it was really hard for me to adjust."

"I know."

"You say that he's a distraction, but not having him around….it's like I've lost a part of myself. I know it's hard for everyone to understand my relationship with Angel, but he gets me in a way that nobody else can. He's the only freaky thing in my freaky world that makes sense sometimes. And when I woke up and realized we'd gone our separate ways? Well, quite honestly, that was more upsetting than the fact that I had almost died. I just wanted things to be…normal again. As normal as they could possibly be anyway. So when Angel apologized for the way he treated me, and he told me he wanted things to work out between us…well, it's the happiest I've been since I woke up."

The corner of Giles' mouth slowly turned up. "Well I could hardly argue with that." He joined her on the bench. "I don't intend to give you a hard time, Buffy. I hope you know that."

"You just care me about. It's understandable that you'd be concerned."

"It's more than just concern, Buffy. If I had a daughter, I'd imagine she'd be a lot like you. And I can't help but worry about you as if a father would."

Buffy smiled at him. "Are we having a_ Hallmark_ moment?"

Giles smiled back at her. "I just want you to be careful, Buffy."

"I will."

"And quite frankly, it doesn't matter if it's Angel or Riley or someone else. I'll never believe anyone is good enough for you."

"Spoken like a true pseudo-father."

"Shall we get to work now?" Giles suggested. He stood to his feet and walked over to the weapons he had selected. "I think it's time you've practiced with a variety of weaponry. You're quite adept at using stakes, however, it certainly won't kill every demon."

"I like how you switched into Watcher-mode, Giles," Buffy teased as she walked over to the table and took a look at the swords and knives before them. "My real father would freak out if he saw me playing with knives."

* * *

"Hey, vamp! The 70s called! They want their polyester suit back!"

The vampire Buffy was fighting paused for a moment and looked down at what he was wearing. "Huh? What's wrong with this suit?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? It's the year 2000 and that outfit reeks of the disco days. I mean, that look went out of style before I was even _born_! Where'd you get it from anyway? Your parents' closet?"

"No, I got it out of my own closet. And I happen to like—"

Buffy staked the vampire before he finished talking. "Evil vamps are bad enough, but one with a bad fashion sense as well?"

"Buffy! Behind you!" Angel called from across the way as he fought another vampire.

Before she could turn around, the vampire grabbed her arms, holding her in place.

"Think you're so strong now, Slayer?"

"As a matter of fact…yes!" Buffy kicked the vampire in the shin. She managed to get out of his grip, but she dropped her stake in the process.

Buffy spun around and hit the vampire in the jaw. He returned the gesture, throwing a punch at her. Buffy ducked her head, narrowly missing his fist.

"End of Days has begun!"

"Yeah, end of your days maybe!" she said, kicking him in the gut and sending him flying against a headstone.

As the vampire got his bearings, Buffy grabbed her stake from the ground. The vampire charged at her once again, but met the end of her pointy stick instead.

Seconds later, the vampire Angel had been fighting turned to dust as well.

"Is that it?" Buffy asked, catching her breath.

Angel looked around. "Yeah, I think we got all of them."

Buffy checked her watch. "And in just under two minutes."

Angel gave her a smile as he stepped closer. "I always knew we worked well together."

"Like a well-oiled machine." Buffy tilted her head up as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips.

They stayed like that for a while until a familiar voice interrupted the moment.

"Ahh…reunited. And it feels…so good." From out of the shadows, Spike emerged. He walked over to them, smiling at Angel. "But not _too_ good, right? You wouldn't want to lose that pesky soul of yours, now would you?" Spike leaned in closer. "I bet you want to shag her so bad and say the hell with the bloody curse, don't you?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Go away, Spike."

"I'll go wherever I damn well please. And the last I checked, this was a public cemetery."

"So find another one," Angel said, glaring at him.

Spike just laughed. "Don't want me horning in on your fun, eh? Not even if I knew where a nest of vampires are hiding?"

"Too late. We already killed them. Come on, Angel. Let's patrol somewhere else. The stench of cigarette smoke is overwhelming around here."

Buffy turned on her heel and walked away, Angel close behind her.

"You're going the wrong way," Spike said, sidling up beside her. "The nest is back there near the forest."

Buffy stopped in her tracks. "I don't remember inviting you on our patrol."

"Oh, is that what you two were doing back there? When you had your tongues shoved down each other's throats?"

"I thought you said you didn't want to help us anymore."

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I got bored. Vampires see me and they turn the other way. But with you…well, no vampire can resist fighting a slayer."

"Isn't there an elsewhere you should be?" Buffy said, walking away.

Spike moved in front of them, blocking their way. "Look, is it so hard for you to believe that I'm on your side for once?"

"Yes," Angel said.

"Well I don't care what the lot of you think of me anyway. Now do you two want to find this nest or what?"

"Is that a sword?" Angel asked, noticing for the first time a shiny metal object in Spike's hand. "Where did you get that from?"

Spike held up the sword, grinning proudly. "Got it from a Mohra Demon," he said proudly.

"You killed a _Mohra_?" Angel asked.

"Well don't look so surprised. The bloody ninja came after me, and I'm never one to turn down a good fight."

"Did you kill it?" Angel demanded.

"No, I let him get away. Of course I killed it! He lost his sword. Then he lost his head. Courtesy of yours truly."

"You idiot!"

"Well that's gratitude."

"You didn't kill him!"

"Well he looked dead to me when I left him!"

"You don't understand, Spike. You have to kill them a certain way. Mohra demons regenerate themselves, and when they do, they come back stronger."

"Well how the bloody hell was I supposed to know that?"

"What's a Mohra demon?" Buffy asked.

Buffy's question threw Angel for a moment until he realized she wouldn't have remembered. "You've seen them before. They're assassin demons. They target warriors like us."

"So that's why he was chasing me," Spike said.

"Or they just like to kill anything that's _annoying_," Angel added. He looked down at the stake in his hand. "We need to go back and get better weapons. And you," he pointed to Spike. "You're going to show us where you supposedly killed this demon."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Angel's '67 Plymouth pulled into a parking space.

"Wow, it's weird to see this place so deserted," Buffy said as she looked around at the empty parking lot. She caught Angel's look of confusion and explained. "We're at the beach. Usually a lot more crowded in the daytime."

"Oh, right. Well it's a good thing not many people are around." Angel pulled out a giant axe from the back seat of the car. "These Mohra demons are dangerous. They may target warriors but they'll kill humans too."

"Spike?" Buffy asked, checking to see if he was ready.

He stood outside the car with his sword, sniffing the air. "He went that way. I can smell him."

"Let's go kill a Mohra demon," Angel said as he and Buffy fell in line behind Spike.

* * *

The only thought Angel had, other than wanting the Mohra demon dead, was that it would be a really bad time to become human again. And there were no Oracles to turn back the clock this time around.

Here he was, once again, facing the opportunity to become mortal. It'd be so simple really. Cut the demon. Cut himself. Mix their blood_. Become human._

But he wasn't going to do that, not if he could help it. As much as he would like to become human, he'd never be able to help Buffy fight that way. Nothing had changed since that perfect day last fall, and his reasons for being immortal remained the same.

Besides, Angel had a bad feeling about things to come. The forces of darkness were gathering their armies, and Buffy would need all the help she could get.

Maybe even Spike's, he hated to admit. Provided he had really changed, of course.

Angel glanced at Buffy as they walked on the beach, her face illuminated in the moonlight. She caught his gaze and smiled at him. She was a strong fighter, and he'd make damn sure he was just as strong.

* * *

"Now remember, these demons regenerate," Angel said as the three made their way through the tunnel of a nearby cave, which was conveniently lit, more evidence of a demon's presence. "Smash the jewel on its forehead. It's the only way to properly kill them."

"Are you sure this is where he went?" Buffy asked, turning to Spike.

"Positive."

"Spike's right. I can smell him too."

"Handy sense," Buffy said. "A little gross, but handy."

They came to a fork in the tunnels, and Spike paused for a moment. "There," he pointed, leading them down the left fork.

"Door number one then," Buffy said, following them.

They made their way through the cavern, following the Mohra's invisible trail.

Buffy began to wonder if they'd ever find this demon. "Kind of odd a demon would make his home a cave by the beach," Buffy mused aloud. "Don't most demons these days prefer the sewers?"

"It's not so odd," Angel said. "Mohra demons need a lot of salt to live."

"Oh. Well I suppose that makes sense."

"Will you two be quiet?" Spike complained, turning around and glaring at them. "I can't hear a thing."

Behind him, Buffy and Angel looked on as three Mohras appeared before them. The one in the middle looked especially angry.

"Uh…Spike?" Angel said, pointing over his shoulder. "I think you might want to turn around now."

"Foolish warrior!" the angry Mohra hissed as he lunged for Spike.

Spike dodged him. "Not so big and bad without your shiny weapon, huh?" he taunted, waving around the sword he'd stolen from him earlier.

The Mohra reached into his pocket and pulled out his morgenstern. He made a grand show of its metal spikes as he spun the weapon around.

"Bugger," Spike muttered.

The two remaining Mohras set their sights on Buffy and Angel.

"Of course he has buddies!" Buffy complained. "And with a bigger sword," she added as the Mohra brought out his.

"I prefer the axe myself," Angel said, aiming for the Mohra but missing him by mere inches.

Spike's demon, meanwhile, managed to throw him on the ground. Spike picked up his weapon again and was on his feet moments later. "Oh, is that the best you can do?"

Angel used his axe to cut the Mohra's arm, then used the opportunity to smash the blade of the axe into his jeweled forehead, killing him.

"You think you're better than me?" Spike continued to taunt, knocking the Mohra's morgenstern to the ground with his sword.

"Just kill it already, Spike!" Angel said.

"Lucky for me I'm really good at this," Buffy said as she hit her opponent's sword, causing him to drop his weapon as well. "Unlucky for you."

The Mohra charged Buffy and attacked, grabbing her weapon by the blade and tossing it aside. He picked Buffy up, sending her airborne for a few seconds against the cavern wall before landing to the ground with a thud. She looked up, seeing the Mohra looming above her. Not only was she without a weapon, but she was also without an immediate plan.

"Your weakness amuses me," the Mohra laughed, picking Buffy off the ground and holding her by the throat.

"Obviously you haven't seen how she operates," Angel said, slicing the Mohra from behind with his axe.

The Mohra screamed from the pain and loosened his grip. Buffy fell to the ground once again. This time, she spotted a morgenstern at his feet.

"You shouldn't leave your toys lying around!" she said as she grabbed the morgenstern. "Someone's liable to get hurt!"

Buffy swung the weapon around several times, gaining enough momentum to propel it forward. The metal smashed against the Mohra's jeweled forehead, and he screamed again in agony as a red glow surrounded him.

She suddenly realized she'd seen this happen before.

"_You hurt my boyfriend!"_

The Mohra disappeared, and Buffy stared at the empty space as she tried to make sense of her flashback.

Spike continued to fight the remaining Mohra, only to be thrown on the ground once again. He grabbed a rock as the Mohra picked him up. Spike abandoned his sword and used the rock instead, smashing the ruby.

"Easy clean-up," Angel remarked once all three Mohras were gone.

"Good weapons too," Spike said, reaching down on the ground and grabbing the morgenstern Buffy had tossed aside. "Anxious to try out this bad boy."

From the corner of his eye, Angel noticed Buffy as she stared blankly at the wall before her. "Buffy? You okay?"

Buffy turned to Angel and looked at him with a confused expression. "I think I remembered something. You said I've seen a Mohra before?"

"What do you remember?"

"I was fighting one, but the memory's kind of fuzzy. I guess Riley was there. He told me one of them attacked us at the beach. I didn't know what it was called before, but when you mentioned the ruby in its forehead, I knew it had to be the same kind of demon. I don't imagine there are too many demons that fit that description."

Angel stepped closer to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's go. It's been a long night."

"Yeah," Buffy said as she began to walk with Angel.

She looked over her shoulder one last time as they left the cave, staring at the space that moments before held three angry Mohras. As strange as it seemed, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that it had been Angel in her flashback instead of Riley.

* * *

A/N: So I decided it was time to bring Spike back into the story. I know he's sort of been on the backburner as of late. It's not that I've been ignoring him on purpose, but so much has been going on in the story that I just haven't had a chance to write about him much.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed. And yes, the flashback Buffy had was of "the day", but of course, Buffy doesn't know that! She's really confused anyway…

Until 27! :)


	27. Flashes Before Your Eyes

It had been several days since Buffy had started back patrolling, and to her delight, it was just like old times. She and Angel found it easy to slip into their old routines and patterns. They'd leave for patrol, 8:30 on the dot, and sweep the downtown area and local cemeteries for a few hours. The vampires and demons were always out in full-force, as usual. Occasionally they'd even sneak a kiss or two while they were out.

Yeah…just like old times.

After a particularly heavy patrol night, Angel walked Buffy back to her place. He followed her inside and sank down on the couch, rubbing his neck.

Buffy dropped her stakes on the coffee table and glanced at him. "You okay?"

"Little sore. I guess that Durslar demon got me good. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Take off your shirt."

Angel laughed. "What?"

"You heard me. Take off your shirt."

"Oh, I'm not bleeding. It's just a sore muscle."

"Take off your shirt," Buffy repeated.

"Yes, ma'am." Angel, not bothering to question her any further, began unbuttoning his shirt.

Buffy grabbed the shirt and tossed it to the other side of the couch. "Now lay down on your stomach," she ordered.

"And why am I doing this?" Angel asked as he did what he was told.

Buffy didn't answer him. Instead, he felt her straddling his back. "Just relax."

It soon became clear what Buffy's intentions were. Angel sighed as he felt her hands work her magic on the tense muscles of his back.

Her touch was gentle at first, then harder as she used her elbows to dig in and press out the knots. Angel hadn't had a massage in…well, he couldn't quite remember how long, but this felt damn good.

"Can you get a little higher?" he asked.

Buffy moved up, kneading her hands into his shoulder blades. She didn't press lightly either. Her touch was hard, as if to literally force the pain out of his muscles.

Angel groaned when she hit a particularly tender spot. "You know, you'd make a great masseuse if you ever wanted a day job," he mused.

"I'm not so sure. I'd probably end up bruising my clients, and I think that's sort of frowned upon in the massage industry."

Buffy continued to massage him for a few more minutes before coming to stop. "Is that better?"

Angel had been so content lying there, he'd hardly heard her question. "What? Oh, yes, much better. Thank you."

"Good."

Buffy got up from the couch and Angel sat up, reaching for his shirt to put back on.

"Oh my god, I'm starving!" Buffy announced. "I always am after a good slay," she explained.

Angel finished buttoning his shirt as he followed Buffy into the kitchen. She raided the fridge, moving items aside as she looked for something to eat. "Hmm."

"What's the matter?"

Buffy turned around to face him. "I guess we forgot to go grocery shopping." She searched the fridge again, hoping something edible would catch her eye. At the bottom, she found a bag of chocolate wafer bars. "Jackpot!" she announced as she grabbed them.

"What'd you find?"

"Chocolaty goodness! I keep them in the fridge because I like to eat them cold." Buffy tore into the package and bit off half. "And you know what goes perfect with these?"

"What's that?"

"Peanut butter," she said with a smile. "I hope we have some." Buffy opened the door to the pantry. Towards the back, a jar of peanut butter sat on the shelf. She grabbed the jar and stared at it for a moment, making no effort to open it.

Angel sat down on the barstool, watching her, sensing something was bothering her. "What's wrong?"

"This is the creamy kind." She showed him the label. "It must have been my mom's. We could never agree on which kind was best. She always liked the creamy. I always preferred the crunchy, so we had to get both."

Angel stood up and walked over to her, reaching out to hold her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

Buffy held on to him for a moment, then looked up into his eyes. "It's okay. I'm not going to cry."

"You can cry if you want to."

"I don't want to. I'm tired of crying." Buffy pulled away and opened the container, seeing almost half of the peanut butter gone. "This is probably expired. It's been in this cabinet for God only knows how long." She put the lid back on and tossed the container in the trash, then returned to searching the pantry. "Oh, we do have crunchy!"

Angel watched in amusement as Buffy dipped her finger in the peanut butter and licked it. She then took a rather large bite of the chocolate wafer.

"Oh my god," she mumbled with a mouthful. "This is the good stuff."

It was moments like these when Angel would remember_ the day_, the one Buffy would never remember. A vision of her flashed through his mind. Buffy wearing his shirt. Buffy in his bed. The two of them eating peanut butter and chocolate and ice cream.

"_Why didn't you ever tell me about chocolate and peanut butter?_"

_"Well, I figured if your vamp taste buds couldn't really savor it, then it would only hurt you, you know?" _

Buffy stared at Angel, noticing the look on his face. "What? Do I have chocolate on my mouth or something?"

Angel smiled. "No. I just like watching you eat chocolate with peanut butter."

"Here, have some," Buffy insisted, taking another wafer and scooping peanut butter on it. "I know you can't taste it, but have some anyway."

Angel accepted, taking a bite.

Buffy laughed and tilted her head up, planting a kiss on his lips. "Mmm, now you taste like peanut butter," she said with a laugh when she pulled away, then went in for another kiss.

He lifted Buffy up on the counter, deepening the kiss. But the sound of the front door opening interrupted the moment, and the voices of Willow and Tara drifted into the room.

Angel reluctantly pulled away. "I should probably get going."

"Yeah." Buffy stepped down from the counter and followed him to the back door.

"Thanks for the massage and the…peanut butter."

Buffy smiled. "Anytime."

"Goodnight," he whispered as he kissed her one last time.

Angel pulled away, and Buffy saw him out the door. "Goodnight."

* * *

_The vampire slammed Buffy against a headstone, stunning her for a moment. She rolled over on the ground and gazed up at the vampire looming above her._

"_Had enough, Slayer?" he mocked._

"_No," she replied, getting back on her feet and taking offensive again. She punched the vampire in the jaw, then delivered a swift kick to his stomach. _

_The fight ensued for another minute, Buffy steadily gaining the upper hand again. Finally, she picked the vampire up off his feet and slammed him against a nearby tree, where he met the pointy end of a tree branch. The vampire, suddenly realizing his fate, turned to dust._

_Buffy brushed the dust from her shirt and smiled in satisfaction. Another vamp down, bringing tonight's total to five. _

_And she was just getting started._

"_Bravo," said a unfamiliar voice, and Buffy turned around, wondering who was talking to her._

_From the shadows emerged a figure with long, dark hair, and clad in black clothing from head to toe. Buffy was about to make a crack at the vampire's lurking behavior when he spoke to her again._

"_I have to say, that was quite the performance. He didn't even see it coming."_

"_Well, this is new. A vampire complementing me on my slaying skills?"_

_The vampire laughed. "It was a nice effort, but there's always room for improvement." The vampire stepped closer, looking Buffy up and down. "You look a lot like the last slayer. You're not as tall as her though."_

_Buffy reached into her back pocket and wrapped her fingers around her stake. "Do you mind if we skip the chit-chat portion of the evening and go straight to the main event?"_

_Buffy, not waiting for his answer, lunged at the vampire with her stake. The vampire, however, vanished before her, leaving Buffy confused._

"_Okaaay, that wasn't what I was expecting," she muttered to herself. "That's cheating."_

_From somewhere behind her, Buffy heard laughter. She turned around, seeing the very same vampire standing a few feet away._

"_I think you missed me."_

"_How did you—"_

"_Maybe you should try it again."_

"_So you can what, disappear into thin air before I stake you? How about actually fighting me rather than taking the coward's way out?"_

_The vampire disappeared again, and Buffy whipped around, realizing he was standing behind her._

"_Never underestimate the element of surprise," he said._

_Buffy attempted to stake him for a second time. And once again, he vanished before her. _

_He reappeared against a statue. "A little too slow, Slayer. And here I had you pegged for having quick reflexes."_

_Buffy ran towards the vampire, determined once and for all put an end to this show, but he disappeared before she could touch him._

"_Stop doing that!" Buffy yelled, looking around as she wondered where he'd gone off to now. "I'm not up for playing cat and mouse. Fight, you coward!"_

_The vampire didn't respond, and Buffy could see no sign of him anywhere._

"_Okay, this is getting boring. I think I'll go find a vampire that can actually fight."_

_Buffy turned on her heel and walked away. Seconds later, she nearly collided with the vampire as he suddenly appeared before her again._

"_Going already, Slayer? And we were having so much fun."_

"_I'd try to stake you, but you'll just pull the disappearing act again. So predictable. And frankly, I'm a little bored with that game."_

"_Then perhaps we'll play a new one. Stay there, and don't move."_

"_Says the vamp who likes to disappear before my eyes," Buffy muttered._

_He simply stood there and smiled, revealing his fangs._

_Buffy tried to process how the vampire could look so normal, so human with his fangs revealed, but that thought was interrupted by a more pressing matter._

_She couldn't move._

_It was as if she was having that dream, the dream in which her feet were glued to the floor. And try as she might, she couldn't lift her shoe off the ground. _

_But it wasn't a dream. It was real._

_Come to think of it, she couldn't move *at all*. _

_The vampire simply watched her, grinning in satisfaction as the realization dawned on her._

"_What did—what did you do to me?" _

_The vampire laughed. "I can't risk you running away, now can I?" _

_A sense of panic began to rise within her. This was not good. A vampire with freaky powers was one thing. A vampire using said freaky powers to immobilize her…bad news all around._

_And here she was, alone on patrol, no backup, and her cell phone was dead. Not that the phone thing mattered anyway. Even if she could make a call, she couldn't move her hand to dial the number._

"_Drop the stake," he ordered. _

"_Okay." Buffy tossed her stake to the ground, then wondered how it was possible to move her hand to drop her weapon when she was unable to move her hand for anything else. _

"_There. That's much better. I feel like we can have a conversation now that there are no pointy wooden objects between us. Not like you could actually stake me anyway."_

_Buffy mentally kicked herself for thinking this vampire couldn't fight. He could fight alright, and dirty at that._

_The vampire circled around her, a look of contempt in his dark eyes as he focused on her. "You slayers, you walk around like you're better than everyone else just because you were given superior strength."_

"_Oh, come on now," Buffy said nervously, "I don't think that. And besides, you have superior strength too, being a vampire and all." Buffy hoped her voice hadn't given away how frightened she was at the moment. If she could just stall him long enough to figure a way out of this. Maybe this was all a game to him. Surely he wouldn't kill her tonight. He seemed like the type of vamp that liked to taunt his victims long before the final battle. Maybe. Okay, wishful thinking…_

_The vampire smirked. "Yes, I suppose so. But don't try to deny the power you hold means nothing to you. Every one of you slayers are the same. The power. The strength. Saving the world over and over. You wouldn't be at this cemetery tonight if your power meant nothing to you."_

"_But I don't think I'm better than everyone else."_

"_Good, then we agree on something."_

"_So is this the part where you bite me now? Because I'm not afraid. You know, been there, done that, got the t-shirt."_

_He smiled wide, baring his fangs again. "You talk…strange. And yes, I could bite you. But I won't." _

_Buffy exhaled the breath she'd been holding in._

_The vampire circled around her again, eyeing her with curiosity as she stood still before him. "Most vampires act like the blood of a slayer is some ambrosia for the gods. I myself don't feel that way. I've drank a slayer before, and quite honestly, it's too rich for my taste."_

_He stopped in front of her, leaning forward. "I don't like anyone else to have that kind of power."_

"_So are you going to keep me out here all night, or are we going to fight?"_

"_You're eager to get on with the show. I like that. But we're not going to fight. Actually, I had something else in mind."_

_He snapped his fingers, and four ironclad vampires emerged seemingly from nowhere and made their way over to them._

_The vampire looked to his soldiers and grinned. "Kill her," he ordered. "And make it slow and painful. I want to watch her suffer."_

"_Buffy? Buffy!"_

Buffy thrashed about in her bed, trying to get out of the grips of whatever or whoever was holding her down. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw Willow and Tara both staring at her, wide-eyed.

"It's okay, Buffy!" Willow said, placing her hand over her arm. "It's just me and Tara!"

Buffy looked from Willow to Tara, slowly becoming acclimated to her surroundings.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked. "We heard you screaming."

"You were just having a bad dream."

Buffy sat up, shaking her head. "No. No, it wasn't just a bad dream. I…I remembered something."

"What did you remember?" Willow asked.

"I remembered the night I was attacked."

* * *

Tara walked into the living room and placed a mug on the table in front of Buffy. "I made you some hot chocolate. It's really hot right now."

"Thanks, Tara."

A knock on the door had Willow standing up. "I'll get it." Willow walked over to the door and opened it, letting Angel in. "Hey."

"Hey. Where is she?"

Willow nodded towards the living room. "In there. She hasn't told us anything yet. She wanted to wait for you."

Angel headed to the living room and sat down beside Buffy, placing his arms around her.

"Angel," Buffy whispered, burying her face into his shoulder.

"You okay?"

Buffy nodded. "I am now that you're here."

Angel placed his hand under her chin, tilting her head up to face him. "What happened? What did you remember?"

"The night I was attacked. I-I saw him, Angel."

"Saw who?"

"I saw Maleficus."

Angel shook his head. "You…you _saw _him?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. He was there that night."

"Tell me everything you remember. Start at the beginning."

Buffy took a deep breath, then began to recount her nightmare, or flashback, whatever it was.

"I was by myself, patrolling. And he just, I don't know, appeared from out of nowhere. I guess he'd been watching me for a while. And he was talking to me. I don't remember everything he said."

"Just tell me what you do remember," Angel said.

"I started to fight him, but he pulled a Houdini and disappeared on me."

Angel frowned. "Disappeared?"

Buffy nodded. "As in completely vanished. There one minute, gone the next."

"He teleported?" Willow asked.

Buffy turned to Willow. "Sort of. The next thing I knew, he was behind me. It was like some sort of game to him. I'd see him, then I wouldn't see him. And every time I tried to stake him, he'd pull his disappearing act and I could never touch him."

"Guess it's kind of hard to stake a vampire who keeps disappearing," Tara said.

"Then if things weren't creepy enough, he did something to me. I don't know if it was a spell or what exactly. But suddenly I couldn't move. Except for when he told me to drop my stake. It was like he had control over me or something, and I just did whatever he told me to do. Like he had this power over me. Like _he_ had powers or something. All I can remember is that I felt like I was paralyzed. It was about that time the warrior vampires came around. He ordered them to kill me, and I don't remember much after that."

Angel placed his arm around her. "You're okay now."

Willow's face was etched in worry lines. "Oh, Buffy, that's so frightening."

"Do you remember anything else?" Angel asked.

Buffy shook her head. "It's all kind of fuzzy right now, like dreams sometimes are. I don't remember much of anything else, except maybe how terrified I was."

"Should we call Giles?" Tara asked.

Angel looked at the clock and shook his head. "No, it's late. Let's all get some sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning."

Tara nodded. "You're right. We should all meet at the Magic Box tomorrow."

"Are you going to be okay, Buffy?" Willow asked.

"I'm fine."

"I guess we're going to go back to bed," Willow said, nodding towards the stairs. "We'll see you in the morning."

Buffy nodded. "Goodnight."

Willow and Tara said their goodnights, and headed back upstairs. Buffy turned to Angel, staring at him with worried eyes. "Can you stay a little while?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah."

Buffy sank into his arms as they leaned back against the couch. "Good. I don't know if I can go back to sleep just yet. I keep picturing his face. I can't remember ever being so scared, and it wasn't as if it some big battle I'd been preparing for. It was just an ordinary patrol night."

"Thank god I found you in time."

Buffy looked up at Angel, still wearing her tired, weary expression. "Remember when I talked about losing control of the fight? I didn't lose control. That's because I never had control in the first place. How am I supposed to fight him next time?"

Angel didn't have an answer for that. He wasn't so sure how he'd be able to fight him either.

* * *

"Are you certain it was Maleficus?" Giles asked Buffy the next morning when the group gathered for an emergency meeting.

"He never told me his name, but it had to be him. Who else could it have been? I've never seen a vampire with supernatural powers like that before."

"You mean the vanishing?" Wesley asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, but not just that. He had this power over me, like he had control of my body or something."

"Vampire thrall?" Xander asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. He told me to drop my stake and I just did it. But that wasn't even the weirdest part. It was like he paralyzed me. I couldn't move. I just stood there, unable to do anything but just listen to him ramble on."

"Do you remember what he said?" Giles asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual vampire rants. How he had killed before and how he was oh so powerful. And he said something about slayers, about how he hates how we have the kind of power that we have. He didn't even want to feed on me. He just wanted to kill me."

"I'm confused," Xander said. "I thought it was a group of warrior vampires that attacked you."

"Yeah, they were there too."

"What else happened Buffy?" Giles asked, urging her to continue.

"He brought in his warrior friends."

Angel squeezed her hand, knowing how difficult this was for her.

"He wanted them to kill me," Buffy continued. "And he wanted to stay and watch. I couldn't fight back. I was completely…helpless." Buffy sat down in her chair, the emotion draining the color from her face.

"We'll get him, Buff," Xander promised. "We'll catch this vampire and make sure he sees the light of day."

Wesley leaned forward, looking concerned. "Buffy, I understand this is somewhat difficult, but is there anything else you can recall? Anything at all?"

"Come to think it, yeah. There was one more thing that was kind of odd. He was a vampire with fangs and all alright, but his face was different. He just looked like a normal human without ever changing." Buffy turned to Angel. "Is that even possible?"

"I'm not sure. But I do know the longer a vampire lives, the more difficult it is to control their original human features. I mean, you saw the Master."

"Right. His game face was a permanent fixture."

"It has to be magic then," Tara said, speaking up. "The vanishing thing, well, that's certainly magic. No doubt about it. So maybe he's using some sort of spell to control his appearance as well."

"Are we sure this Maleficus is even a real vampire?" Cordelia asked. "Cause he doesn't sound so vampiry to me. I'll agree the disappearing act sounds supernatural, but anybody could buy a set of realistic fangs at a costume store and call themselves a vampire."

"And I've never heard of a vampire that didn't want to feed on a slayer," Xander added.

Angel threw a glare in Xander's direction.

"I'm sure," Buffy said, turning to Cordelia and ignoring Xander. "He's definitely a vampire. Just…way different."

Giles rose from his chair and walked over to his bookshelf. "There have been vampires known to dabble in the dark arts." He began to pull out several volumes and brought them to the table. "I think now that we have more information to go on, finding out who our Maleficus is should be far less daunting."

"Do you mind if I skip this round of research?" Buffy asked, looking to Giles for permission.

Giles was about to object, hoping Buffy would be eager to help having actually seen the vampire herself, but the look in her eyes stopped him. "Of course. We can handle research for now."

"Thanks." Buffy quickly left the table and headed to the training room.

Angel started to get up, but Giles stopped him.

"Maybe we should give her a little time," he whispered.

Angel sat back down, realizing Giles was probably right. Buffy was emotionally drained. It was understandable that she'd want a little space.

"I wonder why Maleficus never revealed himself to you, Angel," Wesley said.

Angel shook his head. "I don't know. He must have made one of his hasty exits before my arrival."

"Yeah, with the vanishing and all," Cordelia said.

"The fact that he used magic to control Buffy is more disturbing than the vanishing," Giles said. "Willow?"

Willow looked up, wide-eyed. "Yes?"

"You and Tara find out everything you can on hypnotizing spells or any other spells that sound similar to the one Buffy described."

Willow rose from the table, Tara following. "We're on it."

"Wesley, why don't you and Cordelia search through these volumes and see if you turn up anything?" Giles placed another stack of books on the table in front of them.

"Certainly," Wesley said.

"_Vampires & The Dark Arts,_" Cordelia said, reading the title aloud. She shrugged, then opened the book.

"Now if we could just find a photograph of him in one of these books," Giles said.

"I could sit down with Buffy and do a sketch," Angel offered.

"That's a good idea," Giles agreed.

"What about me?" Xander asked, not wanting to feel left out.

"Help with research," Giles answered, placing a thick book in front of him.

"I do find it odd that he hasn't made any other appearances," Wesley said, pondering aloud. "I wonder what the significance of that is, especially if his intention was to harm Buffy. You'd think he'd shown up again by now."

Willow, carrying several spell books, sat back down at the table with the group. "Well she hasn't really been alone much since she got back from the hospital, has she? It'd be kind of hard for anyone to come after her with all of us around."

"Which means she could still be in danger," Angel said, voicing what everyone in the room had been thinking.

* * *

Angel watched Buffy from the doorway. She was in the training room wearing gloves, and she was beating the punching bag mercilessly. He waited for her to take a moment to catch her breath before he spoke. "Hey."

Buffy looked over her shoulder and gave him a weak smile. "Hey."

"You okay?"

Buffy moved over to the bench and took off her gloves. "I was just thinking about it, about that night. I keep remembering more."

Angel sat down beside her. "What did you remember?"

"You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes when you know you're about to die?"

"Yeah."

"That's what happened. That's exactly what happened. I thought of everyone. Will, Xander, Giles, Riley. I thought of them all finding me the next morning. I thought for sure I was going to die and that I'd never see them again. I thought of them having my funeral and burying me beside my mom. And right before I blacked out, I thought of you. I thought of never being able to see you again. There was even some small part hoping you would come for me. I could almost hear you calling my name."

"I was."

Buffy stared at him, puzzled. "You were there, weren't you?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten to you sooner."

"You still saved my life. That's all that matters."

"Giles wants to see if we can get a picture of Maleficus. Do you think you could sit down and describe him to me for a sketch?"

"Yeah, but can we do it later? I don't want to think about him any more right now."

"Sure."

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"What happens if he comes back for me?"

"He'll have to get through me first," Angel answered. And that was a promise he had every intention of keeping.

* * *

A/N: Ahh, yes, Maleficus finally revealed! In a flashback anyway, hehe. Actually he's made another appearance in this story. (Yep, he was the lurking vamp outside Buffy's house.) But this was his first big scene so to speak.

If you want to see what I picture Maleficus to look like, google _Port Charles_ Michael Easton. I couldn't resist bringing a vampire from another one of my fave shows into my story (sort of). Coincidentally, his character name on that show was Caleb, ha! The similarities between this show and _Buffy_ are eerie!

Until 28!


	28. Rooted In Evil

"Anything yet?" Buffy asked, looking over Giles' shoulder.

Giles turned away from his book and looked at her with a concerned expression. "Buffy? Are you…alright now?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm fine. Just thought I'd work out a little. Thought maybe it would help me remember more."

"Did you remember anything else about that night?" he asked hopefully.

"I remembered what outfit I wore!" Buffy smiled brightly. "Although I'm guessing that's not really relevant, huh?"

"It's something," Angel said, pulling up a chair for Buffy to sit at the table.

"Now if I just could remember everything else, right?"

"We've been working on a research list," Wesley said, looking to Buffy and Angel. He grabbed a sheet of paper in the middle. "If you find a Maleficus that's not _our_ Maleficus, write it down here and where you found that information. It'll save time so we don't research the same things over and over."

"That's a good idea," Angel said.

"Hey, Giles?" Willow asked, looking up from her laptop. "Do you have Lawrence Copeland's _Mystic Horrors of Eastern Europe_? Uh…volume two?"

Giles paused for a moment, thinking. "I believe…yes, I do. Top right." Giles pointed to the bookshelf.

"Thanks." Willow got up from her seat and walked over to the bookshelf.

"I brought sustenance!" Xander announced as he strolled into the Magic Box, holding a box of a dozen donuts.

"Did you get me a cream filled one?" Anya asked him. "You know those are my favorite."

"Would I forget?" Xander opened the box to show Anya the donuts.

"Oh, you remembered!" she squealed, grabbing the donut, then placing a smacking kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"Buffster?"

"Got any with icing and sprinkles?"

"You know I do!" Xander held the box in front of her. "Anyone else?"

"Yes, please!" Willow said, waving Xander over to her side of the table so she could grab a glazed one. "I know it's boring, but the glazed are my favorite."

"I like the glazed ones with chocolate," Tara said, reaching into the donut box.

"I rather enjoy those myself," Wesley said, taking another chocolate donut.

"Giles?"

Giles kept his eyes on his book. "No thank you, Xander."

Xander held the box in front of Cordelia. "Cordy?"

Cordelia glared at him. "Do I look like I need to gain five pounds?"

"Actually, yeah. You're thin as a rail."

"I don't want a donut."

"C'mon, Cordy. It's just _one_. And I've got powdered sugar…your favorite."

Anya looked up from her book, narrowing her eyes at this little interaction.

"If I eat the damn donut, will you quit bothering me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Cordelia snatched the donut out of the box and turned her attention back to her book.

Xander grabbed a jelly donut for himself and sat down. "So, no luck on Maleficus what's his face?"

Tara looked up from her book. "Not about that, but I think I've got a better understanding of the kind of magic he's using."

"What did you find?" Wesley asked, curious.

"Well, it seems like more than one spell actually. There's the immobilization spell, which renders a person unable to move, or to have limited movement. That sounds a lot like what Buffy described. And then there are various mind control spells. And of course, the vanishing spell, which is self-explanatory. But this kind of magic is all at a very advanced level. Only someone whose been studying magic for a long time could be able to do these spells. I'm not even sure I could do it."

"What about the appearance thing?" Buffy asked.

"I'd say that's a vanity spell," Tara answered. "Either he's altering his appearance, or he's altering the way others perceive him to look. Probably the former, although I'm not exactly sure why a vampire would care to alter their appearance. It's not as if they can see their reflection."

"There's actually a lot of vampires that prefer not to look like one," Angel said. "We may not be able to see our reflection, but we know how other vampires look. It's not odd for one to want to retain their human features."

"Hey guys," Willow interrupted, getting everyone's attention. "I think I just found something!" She pointed to a passage in the book she was researching. "It says here that there was a warlock in the 14th century that called himself 'Maleficus'. I think this is him! I think this is our Maleficus!"

"But he's a vampire, Will," Xander said. "Not a warlock."

"Actually, he's both. He was a warlock who became a vampire…by choice." Willow looked up at the group. "So he's pretty powerful."

"Is there a picture?" Buffy asked.

"No, sorry."

Giles walked over to peer over Willow's shoulder. "Willow, may I see that?"

"Sure," Willow said, handing Giles the book.

Giles examined the text for a few moments, then read aloud. "'_Although no one knows his real name, it is believed he was the youngest son of a farmer in a small European village who became interested in the dark arts at an early age_. _Later, Maleficus would become one of the most powerful and fierce warlocks of his time._

"'_By the mid-14__th__ century, Maleficus became more powerful than ever. He had become a vampire. He stated his new form gave him power beyond belief, with the additional benefit of eternal youth. It is widely-believed the choice to become a vampire was a conscious decision.'"_

"Does it say anything about his freaky powers?" Buffy asked.

"It says that '_from the 14__th__ to the 17__th__ century, Maleficus caused a reign of terror across Europe, using his powers of hypnosis, mind control, and thrall to control and eventually kill his victims, or sometimes, have others kill his victims for his amusement. His method of torture involved inflicting paralysis of his victims, making it impossible for them to escape_.'"

"Which is exactly what happened to me," Buffy said.

"Wow," Cordelia said. "How would you even go about killing someone like that?"

"According to this, there were many attempts to kill Maleficus, but no one had been successful," Giles answered.

"Great," Buffy muttered.

"Wait a minute." Giles read further down to the next paragraph. "Someone _was_ successful. '_Maleficus was finally killed in London at the hands of a slayer sometime during the 17__th__ century_." Giles turned the page, disappointed to see that was the end of the section.

"You mean there's a slayer out there that actually _defeated_ him?" Buffy sank down in her chair. "How is that possible? He's like a freaking puppet master."

Giles examined the text again, looking for any clue he might have missed. "It doesn't appear to say how he died, or the name of the slayer who killed him for that matter. Only that he was killed sometime during the 17th century."

"Can I see that, Giles?" Xander asked, and Giles handed him the book.

Giles took his glasses off and began his nervous habit of cleaning them. "If only I could get my hands on my old Watchers' diaries."

Buffy frowned. "You don't have them anymore?"

Giles shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. The Council took away all my Watcher materials. All of the research here is my own."

"And the Council's not really all that trustworthy at the moment, huh?" Buffy mused.

"I may have some books that could be of good use in researching this matter," Wesley announced. "Although unfortunately, they're back at my apartment in Los Angeles. I could make a drive there today to retrieve them."

"That would be great, Wesley," Angel said.

Cordelia looked up. "Oh, you're going back to L.A.? I could go with you, Wes. I'd like to stop by my apartment too. And if you'd like a little company," she added as an afterthought.

"Um, hey guys?" Xander interrupted. "I think there's one pretty big clue that you're all missing here. And that's newsflash: This Maleficus is _dead_! And I don't mean vampire dead. I mean dead as in he's dust. This can't be the same Maleficus. Can it?"

"Maybe he was resurrected," Willow said. "Ordinarily, I'd agree with you. But this is the first vampire we've come across in our research that seems to resemble the one who attacked Buffy. I think it's too much of a coincidence to ignore."

"Xander does has a point," Giles admitted, "We could be dealing with an entirely new threat. But I'm inclined to agree with Willow. I think it would be unwise to ignore the possibility that Maleficus has somehow been raised from the, well, I would say the dead, but from the depths of Hell would probably be more accurate."

"You mean like how they tried to raise the Master in that ritual after he was killed?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes."

"A raising…" Angel said, an idea forming. "_Damn it_. I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner."

Cordelia looked at Angel. "Think of what?"

"A raising? Sound familiar?"

"Wolfram & Hart," Wesley said, finishing Angel's thought.

"I should have known they were behind this," Angel muttered.

The group looked to Angel in confusion.

"Wait…what? Who's Wolfram & Hart?" Buffy finally asked.

"These really evil lawyer guys," Cordelia said.

"Lawyers. Well that explains it," Xander remarked.

"I'm not sure I understand," Giles said.

"Wolfram & Hart is an international law firm," Angel explained. "They have firms in all the major cities, L.A. being one of them."

"But they're anything but law abiding," Wesley added.

"They're rooted in evil through and through. Two months ago they were raising something in a box, but we never got any leads on what it was."

"And it was just about two months ago that the odd occurrences began in Sunnydale," Giles said.

Angel turned to Willow. "Willow, you're good with computers. Do you think you could—"

"Hack into Wolfram & Hart's files?" she asked as she lifted the lid to her laptop.. "Already on it."

Angel smiled. "Wow, she's good."

"I suppose we'd better get a move on," Wesley announced, nodding toward Cordelia. "If we want to be back before sundown, that is."

"I vote for being back before sundown," Cordelia said, grabbing her purse.

"Take my car, Wes." Angel reached into his pocket and tossed him the keys to his car, which Wesley managed to catch, albeit clumsily.

"Let's go," Cordelia urged. "See you, guys."

"See ya," Buffy waved, then turned her attention back to the group. "So, what now?"

But no one answered Buffy's question, and the only sound that could be heard was Willow's furious typing.

* * *

Angel walked over to the table and checked out Willow's computer screen. "Any luck?"

Willow shook her head. "This is going to take a little while. They have a pretty strong firewall in place. And no doubt these files are encrypted too." Willow caught the look of disappointment in his eyes. "Oh, but don't worry. I can still break in. All I need to do is find a back door, or an open window at least."

"Even if you can't, thanks for trying."

"Oh no, I can. Just give me another half hour."

"I'm so over this," Buffy said, closing the book and adding it to the growing pile in the middle of the table.

"Why don't you take a break?" Angel suggested.

Buffy looked at him and smiled. "I could use one."

They went to the training room and sparred for a little while. It was enough to help Buffy refocus, and maybe relieve her stress a little. But there was still one thing at the back of her mind that kept nagging her.

"What's the matter?" Angel asked, sensing her mood.

"Can we do that sketch now? I don't want to but…"

"We should do that soon." Angel stood up. "I'll be right back."

He returned a few moments later with a sketch pad and charcoal pencils.

It hadn't taken Angel long, maybe twenty minutes, to come up with a drawing of Maleficus based on Buffy's description. Then he went back over the drawing and refined it, making changes where necessary.

"The nose was…smaller. And more pointy."

Angel erased some of his drawing and redrew the nose. "Sort of like that?"

"Yeah."

"Is this him, Buffy?" Angel asked, showing her the finished sketch.

Buffy stared at the drawing, seeing Maleficus staring right back at her. "Yeah. That's him." It was creepy how Angel had captured those dark, cold eyes of his when she hadn't remembered what they looked like until now.

Tara poked her head into the training room. "Hey, you guys? Come quick. Willow's doing her computer magic."

"Maybe Will found something!" Buffy hopped off the floor and headed to the main room, Angel right behind her.

Across the room, Willow's computer beeped.

She turned toward Buffy and Angel. "I'm in!"

Angel and Buffy peered over Willow's shoulder.

"Now we just need to see if we can find a link…" Willow began to type in a few keywords to see if anything would come up.

"Try Maleficus," Angel suggested. "Or Sunnydale."

Willow tried them both, and seconds later, several entries popped up.

"There it is," Angel said. "A link to Maleficus and Wolfram & Hart."

* * *

A/N: Okay, regarding the box that Wolfram & Hart had. Obviously Darla wasn't inside, lol. :) Remember when I said the end of season one of _Angel_ was going to be slightly different? This is how it's different. (Well, that and the Faith stuff, since Faith is still in a coma in my story and never went to L.A.)

So why did I make this change? Because I prefer for Darla to stay dead, that's why. ;) But that's not the only reason. The other is that Maleficus is sooo much more evil…mwahahah.

Oh, and by the way…I really want a donut right now. You want to know why all of the donut scenes have been in this story lately? That's why.

Until 29!


	29. A Little Hope

"Jeez, Wesley, how many books do you have?" Cordelia complained as she dragged another box out of his closet.

Wesley took the question seriously. "Over five hundred I imagine."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You and your books. You're just as bad as Angel." Cordelia went about opening the box. "I'm surprised you have room for all of them here."

"Oh, this isn't my entire collection. I have more books in storage. Ahh, yes, here it is."

Cordelia glanced over at Wesley, who had his attention focused on a familiar scroll. "You're bringing that?"

Wesley looked up, then nodded. "It's a prophecy about Angel, and there is an impending apocalypse around the corner, one which I may add, Wolfram & Hart seems to play a part in. I thought I'd examine it again and have Mr. Giles take a look. Perhaps there's a clue we've missed."

Cordelia smiled. "Maybe. Okay, please tell me these are the books you're looking for. Because this is like the tenth box I've opened."

Wesley peered over Cordelia's shoulder. "Yes, these are the books!" Wesley grabbed a few volumes, quickly perusing the titles. "Let's take the whole box. It'll be easier than wasting time looking through every single volume."

Cordelia dared to disagree. This box weighed a ton and she knew neither she nor Wesley could lift it by themselves. Taking these books to the car was going to be a team effort.

* * *

Willow had managed to hack into several files regarding Wolfram & Hart's mysterious "Sunnydale Project", and her printer was constantly spitting out page after page. Tara had volunteered to make a quick ink cartridge run, which was a good thing. Willow was almost completely out.

"You owe me a new printer if this breaks down," Willow joked as she handed Angel another stack.

"For all you've done, I'll throw in a new computer as well."

"Really? Ooo, because my laptop fan is getting noisy!"

"You know what I like doing more than researching books?" Xander asked no one in particular. "Researching papers!"

Giles looked up at Xander, throwing him a cautious stare.

"I like highlighting things," Anya said, holding up a yellow highlighter.

Xander looked at the paper Anya was reviewing. "An, you highlighted the entire page. Just highlight what's important."

"I couldn't decide," Anya said with a shrug. "It all seems important to me."

Giles reached across the table and snatched the highlighter out of Anya's hand.

Anya stared at Giles in disbelief. "Hey!"

"I'm not sure I understand all of this," Buffy said. "Most of it seems to be a bunch of lawyer talk, with the occasional Latin verse thrown in for good measure."

"Nothing Wolfram & Hart does makes much sense," Angel replied.

The doorbell jingled, and Wesley and Cordelia walked inside with a large box between them.

"Someone help us with this!" Cordelia begged.

Buffy was the first to volunteer, taking the box from both of them as if it weighed nothing. "Slayer strength," she explained.

"I broke a nail!" Cordelia complained.

"It'll grow back, Cordelia," Wesley said.

Cordelia glared at him, fighting the urge to smack him upside the head. His damn books were the reason her nail was injured in the first place…

Buffy placed the box on the table with a thud.

"You got rocks in there, Wes?" Xander asked.

"No, books. Oh…you were being sarcastic."

Buffy took one of the books out of the box, examining the frail leather binding. "Whoa, these are like…ancient."

"And just a _little _musty," Xander said, peering into the box.

"Do be careful with these volumes. While they're not the original copies, they are still rather…well, ancient."

Angel and Giles each grabbed a book, anxious to see what was in Wesley's collection.

"It looks like a diary," Buffy said, flipping through her book.

"That's because it is," Wesley said. "These are copies of old Watchers' diaries."

Buffy's eyes lit up. "Watchers' diaries? But Giles said he had to give his back."

"How on earth did you get your hands on these volumes?" Giles asked, flipping through one of the diaries with a grin plastered to his face.

"I stole them," Wesley admitted. His cheeks took on a slight blush as everyone stared at him, surprised. "Well, they were in the archives and I took them one day, merely for research purposes I assure you. These volumes had already been scanned to the computer anyway. I didn't think they would be missed. And also, I forgot to return them to the Council."

"Well they certainly came in handy," Buffy said. "Thanks, Wesley."

"So what are we looking for again?" Cordelia asked, taking a seat at the table.

Giles took several more books out of Wesley's box and began passing them out. "We're looking for a slayer from the 17th century. We have no name and no date, only that she most likely lived in London and was the only who was able to kill Maleficus."

"How many slayers were around in the 17th century?" Buffy asked out of curiosity.

Giles frowned. "More than a hundred most likely."

* * *

The diaries were compiled into volumes and organized by date, with several volumes for each century. They quickly weeded out the 18th and 19th centuries, then divided the 17th century amongst themselves.

"No marking in these books," Giles said, looking at Anya.

"I wasn't going to," Anya answered.

Angel handed Cordelia one of the volumes. "Cordelia, you want to search through this one?"

Cordelia laughed. "If you don't mind, I've had enough of those books, thanks. I'll take a stack of whatever Willow's printing off."

"Enjoy," Willow said, handing her the file she had just printed.

"This old-timey handwriting is hard to read," Buffy said, sliding her book over to Angel. "What does that word say?"

Angel examined the text Buffy was pointing to. "It says 'tucked'."

"Oh. Right. It looked like another word, which would have made that sentence really disturbing by the way."

The door opened, and Tara walked in. "I'm back."

"Oh good, and not a moment too soon!" Willow said, holding up the page she had just printed. The print was so faded it was barely readable.

"Wow, Willow, how much did you print while I was gone?"

"Angel said to print everything."

Angel looked up at the mention of his name. "It's not this often I get this kind of access to Wolfram & Hart's files."

"He's like a kid in a candy store," Buffy said, smiling.

Tara handed the ink cartridge to Willow and looked around the group, seeing them all in research mode. "You guys need help?"

Giles handed her a book. "We're looking for the slayer that killed Maleficus."

"I'm on it," Tara said, taking a seat and cracking open the book.

* * *

They had been researching for so long that no one realized it was past dinner time. Not until Xander's stomach began to growl anyway.

"Does anyone else want some pizza?" he asked.

The group agreed unanimously, and Xander got up to make the call.

"I don't think all of these diaries are complete," Tara said. "Some of these entries are a lot shorter than the others, and some of them just seem to end abruptly."

"No, they're complete," Wesley said. "Unfortunately Watchers of the past weren't all that adept at keeping good records."

Buffy leaned her head against Angel's shoulder, her eyes cross-eyed and weary from the reading.

"Why don't you take a break?" Angel suggested.

"I just want to get through this last decade." She flipped through the entries, seeing how much more she had to read. "Just a few more pages."

"Wait, turn back, Buffy." Something had caught Angel's eye, and he took the book and flipped through the pages himself.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"I saw something." He quickly scanned the pages, looking for the word he swore he saw. Finally, on page 536, he found it. "There it is." Angel pointed to the word that caught his eye. "Maleficus."

Buffy grabbed the book, sliding it back over to her side. "Oh my god, that's it! Angel, you found it!"

"Whoa, what did I miss?" Xander asked, rejoining the group.

"May I?" Giles asked, standing up from his seat and walking over to Buffy.

Buffy handed the book to Giles and watched as he examined the entry for several moments.

"The suspense is killing us Giles," Buffy said. "What does it say?"

Giles cleared his throat and read the entry aloud.

"'_It is with great pleasure that I inform the Council that our Hope has defeated Maleficus. I had advised her on several occasions about the dangers of pursuing this venture, for Maleficus is a great threat to humanity. He is dark force which others have tried to defeat, and consequently, failed._

_But fortunate for us, Hope is headstrong, not always willing to comply with my direct orders. One of those orders being rule number one: she alone fights the forces of evil._

_Our Hope did not fight alone tonight, and her cunning ability to devise a plan to defeat this monstrosity is a testament to her nature as a truly gifted slayer._

_She accomplished this with one simple goal in mind. Find his power source…and destroy it. With his strong use of magicks and mind tricks, it would be rather difficult for anyone to gain advantage. Thus, she sought out help from the Coven. With the help of their combined powers, it was rather easy for Maleficus to become disarmed, unable to use his own magic against our warrior. I am told Maleficus went down in a fiery blaze of glory._

_Hope would not reveal the names of those who helped, for it is with great fear they could be persecuted for their actions if discovered. How unfortunate we live in a society in which people are ignorant, not knowing how magic has saved them from a certain death._

_I daresay our Hope indeed gave us hope tonight…hope that with every threat we face, no matter how evil and seemingly impossible, good will always triumph in the end.'"_

Giles looked up from the book, staring at the group. "That's the end of the entry."

"Magic," Willow said, grinning ear to ear. "She used magic to fight him."

"Fire with fire," Buffy added, a smile on her face. "This is how we defeat him. If we can prevent Maleficus from using his magic, then I can kill him."

"What was that last bit about? About being persecuted?" Cordelia asked.

"Witch trials," Tara said softly.

"Tara unfortunately is right," Giles said. "Around that time period, there were thousands who were persecuted, sometimes even executed, for dabbling in dark magicks all across Europe. Most of them innocent. Execution by hanging was the preferred method in England, but in other parts of Europe, they were burned at the stake."

"I'm really glad we don't live in 17th century Europe," Willow said.

"Now just one question remains," Angel said, speaking up. "Where the hell do we find him?"

* * *

A/N: Good question, Angel. But Maleficus likes to hide, so it might be a while before you guys figure out where he's lurking.

Wes and his books...I love that scene! I like to imagine his apartment is filled with boxes and boxes of them, lol. And I like that he stole the diaries from the Council, hehe.

Angel and W&H...I love how he's getting Willow to print all the files she's hacked into. He really is like a kid in a candy store. :) More on W&H's evil plans later...

As for the slayer Hope, I figured that would be an appropriate name. And the gang does need a little hope that they'll win in the end. Things have been kind of depressing lately.

Until 30! :)


	30. A Demon Utopia

"Do you think they've been here all night?" Willow asked as she peered into the window of the Magic Box. Inside, Giles sat at the table, engrossed in his research. Across from him sat Wesley, equally engrossed in whatever he was reading as well.

"Hard to say," Buffy answered. She stood beside Willow, her hands placed on the glass as she too peered inside. "I'm not sure if that's the same outfit Giles wore last night or not. He has a lot of clothes made of tweed."

"What are you two doing?" Tara asked from behind them, laughing.

Willow turned away from the window. "We're watching Giles and Wesley in research mode."

"It's a little comical," Buffy added. "Giles doesn't get to research with someone from the homeland that often."

Tara squeezed herself between them and peered in as well, then laughed.

After the morning's entertainment, the girls made their way inside.

"Oh good, you're here," Giles said, looking up at the three of them.

"Must be really good reading," Buffy said, taking the seat beside Giles. "Did you find anything else about Maleficus?"

Giles turned away from his book and looked at Buffy. "As a matter fact, yes. I decided to backtrack and research slayers that were called before Hope. Obviously he didn't kill Hope, but at some point, he had in fact killed a slayer."

"Right. I know there's at least one."

"Several actually," Giles said grimly. He took off his glasses and began his nervous habit of wiping the lens down with his handkerchief. "I've come across an entry from a watcher in the early 17th century. It appears that Maleficus not only killed the slayer in his charge, but had also killed the three slayers called before her. Unfortunately, this is one of the earliest entries we have, and it's rather sparse in details."

"As they usually are," Buffy said.

"There is, however, a more detailed entry from another watcher. Probably the most detailed account of Maleficus I've been able to find in these diaries."

"What's his deal?"

Giles closed the book he was reading and grabbed another one. He had bookmarked the page and opened it to the entry in question. "Ah, yes, here it is. It appears he was writing an account of what happened to the watcher before him. He writes that Maleficus killed both the watcher and slayer. Evidently they were…involved." Giles caught Buffy's raised eyebrow. "He was a young watcher. Apparently the two had been engaged before she was called, which would have been the only reason a watcher of that age would have been assigned to her."

"So Maleficus killed them?"

"Yes. He had been trying to protect her, but…"

"He couldn't fight him either."

"No."

"What else does it say?"

Giles examined the text again. "The watcher mentions he was a mentor of sorts to the young watcher, and that he had seen first-hand the kind of power and influence Maleficus had. When he was a young boy, he hid while he watched his older brother die at his hands. From that point on, he believed Maleficus to be unstoppable, and therefore, warned the young watcher of just how dangerous he truly was. Although it appears his warning wasn't heeded. He describes the same thing you experienced, Buffy."

"The magic?"

Giles nodded. "I wish it would be possible to read some of these other watchers' diaries. They would certainly give us more clues as to how Maleficus fights."

"Fights? More like how he lifts his hand and lets his mojo do all the work for him," Buffy muttered. She sank back into her chair and looked around the table, seeing Giles immersed in the diaries again, Wesley reading the Wolfram & Hart files, and Willow and Tara researching spell books. "Is there anything I can do?"

Wesley looked up from his reading, then handed her a handful of documents. "If you'd like, you could read through these, and see if you can get a location on where Maleficus is hiding. Perhaps Wolfram & Hart is keeping him somewhere."

"Sure." Buffy scanned the material before her, inwardly sighing, as she knew the material would be dry and boring. "Hey, where are the highlighters?"

"They're in the drawer behind the counter," Giles answered. "I had to…" Giles cleared his throat, "…hide them from Anya."

Buffy got up from the table and walked behind the counter. She rummaged through the drawer until she found the highlighters, then selected a pink one.

From behind, Buffy suddenly felt two hands wrap around her waist. Since she knew the touch rather well, she wasn't startled at all.

"Good morning," he whispered in her ear.

Buffy turned around, smiling. "Hi." Buffy quickly glanced at the table, then turned back to Angel. She grabbed his hand, leading him to the back. Once out of sight, she wrapped her arms around him, tilted her head, and kissed him.

"I didn't know you were here," she said when she finally pulled away.

"I just got here. Came in through the tunnels."

"I missed you last night."

"I missed you too."

"You know, you don't have to always go back to that lonely mansion after you walk me home. You could sleep over sometimes."

Angel hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "I know, but I think if we spend every night together…"

"What?"

"I just don't want you to start resenting that I can't give you more."

"I could never resent you, Angel. And this is enough for now." Buffy silenced his doubts as she kissed him again.

"We should probably get to work," Angel said, pulling away from their kiss.

Buffy nodded, then took his hand and headed back to the main room reluctantly. Research had never been her favorite thing to do, but Angel was here, so the morning was at least marginally better now.

* * *

Buffy casually tossed the document she was reading aside. She didn't seem to pick up on anything of importance, other than a bunch of legal jargon. Once again, she wondered about this mysterious law firm that had apparently been a great nemesis to Angel back in Los Angeles. It didn't completely make sense to her.

"I know people like to joke that there's a special place in Hell for lawyers," she said, "but what's the deal with these guys again? A law firm isn't exactly on the top of my enemies list."

"They're not exactly your typical law firm," Angel said. "I hadn't been in L.A. for very long when I first encountered them. One of their clients was a man by the name of Russell Winters, who was also a vampire actually. Long story short, he was killing young women. Cordelia was almost one of them."

"Oh right. I remember Cordelia mentioning you saved her."

"Not long after that, I realized there was a lot more to Wolfram & Hart than what met the eyes."

"And it's not just their clientele who's evil," Wesley said, overhearing their conversation. "They have a Special Projects Division. Its purpose appears to be anything illegal or supernatural. They're the ones responsible for raising Maleficus from the dead."

Buffy frowned. "So let me get this straight. Wolfram & Hart raises Maleficus. Then Maleficus tries to kill me. So does that mean the evil lawyers want me dead too?" She turned to Angel. "Are they after me to get to you?"

Angel shook his head. "I'm not sure."

"I don't think they're targeting you, Buffy," Wesley said. "In fact, I don't believe you were a part of their plans at all. You just inadvertently got caught in the crossfire."

"What did you find, Wes?" Angel asked.

"I found what they want." Wesley held up the paper he was reading. "What all demons want. Er, the evil ones," he amended. "A demon utopia."

At the mention of this, all eyes turned to Wesley.

"A demon…_paradise_?" Willow asked hesitantly.

Wesley nodded. "Yes, exactly. You see, long ago, before humans walked the earth, there were demons. But then, humans came into existence, driving the demons out. The demons consequently become the inferior race. That's why today, demons lurk in the shadows. But ultimately, that's not what they want."

"They want to rule the earth again," Buffy said.

"Precisely. And Wolfram & Hart wants to help them in this endeavor. Sure makes all of this 'End of Days' talk make a little more sense."

"But aren't the lawyers human too?" Tara asked, a confused expression on her face.

"Yes, they are," Wesley answered, "but according to my research, the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart are not. In fact, they're just as ancient as any demon. Except back then, they were simply known as the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart."

"So this whole plan with raising Maleficus…" Giles started to ask.

"Is just Phase I of their plan," Wesley answered. "They want to create a world in which demons rule again, and Sunnydale is just the beginning."

"So what does Maleficus have to do with this?" Buffy asked. "I mean, he's definitely up there in the ranks on the scale of evil, but why him?"

"I suppose because of his power and influence. Think of how easy it would be for him to influence humans to do his will. And the ones who weren't affected would most certainly be forced into hiding. If we don't stop them, Sunnydale could quite possibly become a hell on earth."

"Angel," Giles said, turning to the vampire, "you mentioned Wolfram & Hart has branches all over the world?"

"That's right."

"Then I fear it would be quite simple for them to spread this worldwide," Giles said gravely.

* * *

Angel frowned as he dodged another one of Buffy's moves. When it came to sparring, Angel never held back, but Buffy appeared to be off her game. Her reaction time was slow, and she seemed distracted. It became quite obvious that something was bothering her.

Angel stood back and motioned for the sparring session to stop. "I think that's enough for now."

"I'm sorry." Buffy sat down on the bench, sighing.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Angel took the seat beside her.

"I guess my heart's just not into it right now."

"You're not admitting defeat already, are you?"

"No, it's just…what good is this doing? This isn't how Maleficus fights. My hand-to-hand combat skills aren't going to save me if I have to face him again."

"Sure it will."

"You say that like you're so sure of it."

"Think about it. Do you think Maleficus has ever had to fight?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. He has others do his dirty work for him. Or he cheats by using magic."

"Exactly. And once he's disarmed, you'll be no match for him. He might possibly be the easiest opponent you've ever had to kill, once we take away his magic, that is."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"Sure."

"But what about now? I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm a little nervous about patrol. Maleficus is still out there, and we have no idea where he is. There's no telling when he could make an appearance again. And until Willow and Tara can get the spell ready, how will I patrol?"

"I may have an answer to that question."

Buffy and Angel turned to see Willow standing in the doorway.

She smiled and walked over to them. "Tara and I were talking, and we had an idea."

Buffy smiled. "Great. I'd love to hear it."

"Next time you go on patrol, you should take one of us."

"Oh, no, Will, I don't want you and Tara out there. It's too dangerous."

"No, hear me out. If you take us, we can do a protection spell. That way, in case you run into Maleficus again, you'd be able to get away. It's just a temporary fix, I know, but until we figure out a way to counteract his magic, it's our best bet."

"That actually might work," Angel said.

"Will, are you sure you and Tara want to do this?"

"Of course, Buffy! We're witches. That's what Tara and I do! And besides, it's not like it'd be the first time I helped you out on patrol."

"Thanks, Will." Buffy rose from her seat and threw her arms around Willow, embracing her.

"You're welcome," Willow said with a laugh.

"This counteracting spell you're working on. How complicated is that going to be?" Angel asked.

"The more powerful Maleficus is, the more complicated the spell."

"So…complicated," Buffy said, answering Angel's question.

"But don't worry, Buffy," Willow said, smiling confidently. "We'll figure it out. We always do. And hey, don't the good guys always win in the end?"

* * *

Cordelia wasn't much for researching. Never had been. But retail…she understood. So when Anya asked if she'd like to help her at the Magic Box that night, Cordelia accepted. She was tired of all this apocalypse-end-of-the-world doom. The world wasn't over yet, and they might as well enjoy living as long as they still could.

"Thanks so much for helping me stock these shelves," Anya said. "Giles usually does this, but now that he's all in research mode, which is quite often these days actually, it's been up to me."

"Oh, you're welcome. I should thank you, actually. This gives me something to do. Apparently all of my old friends from high school left this town, not that I blame them, so I've been bored out of my mind."

"So what do you think of the Magic Box?"

"Honestly, I love it. And I love the jewelry." Cordelia held up her arm, admiring the bracelet she had purchased the other day. It was simple charm bracelet, nothing more, but it still looked pretty cool.

"It's ones of our best sellers. Hey, Cordelia?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a question to ask you."

Cordelia paused restocking the shelves for a moment. "Sure."

"What exactly is going on between you and Xander?"

Cordelia laughed out loud. "_What?_"

"You're over him, right?"

Cordelia stopped laughing, seeing the expression on Anya's face. "Oh, you're serious." It was obvious to Cordelia now the real reason why Anya asked her over.

"Look, I know that you two broke up, and you were really mad at him for a while. But he's my boyfriend now, and I think I might be falling in love him, as crazy as that sounds. But if you still have feelings for him, then this is going to be a really awkward situation for us both."

"Anya, let me assure you: I have no feelings whatsoever for Xander Harris anymore. We had a thing, a very _brief thing_, in high school. No more than that. It wasn't even really serious. So you don't have to worry. I won't steal him away from you."

Anya breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I just wanted to make sure we understood each other."

"You have my full support. I hope you guys are really happy together. And I think he really likes you too."

Anya smiled. "You do?"

Cordelia nodded. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Xander never looked at me that way. With me, it was just a crush. With you, I don't know…it feels like there's something more there."

The bell jingled, and Wesley walked in.

"Hello, ladies."

Cordelia looked up. "Hey, Wes—what is all that?"

Wesley had his arms full of various weaponry, which he was quickly losing grip on. "Uh…a little help?"

"I've got it, Wes," Angel said as he and Buffy walked in behind him. Angel took the load from Wesley.

"What's with the weapons?" Cordelia asked again.

"Mr. Giles thought it'd be prudent to keep a stockpile of weapons here," Wesley explained. "In the event of an emergency."

"We can store them in the training room," Buffy said, holding her own stash of weapons and leading the men to the back.

"I don't understand," Anya said. "We have weapons here. Why would we need more?"

"I don't know," Cordelia said.

"I'll get Willow and Tara to do a protection spell if they haven't already," Buffy said as she came back into the main room, Angel and Wesley behind her.

"That'd be a good idea," Angel said.

Cordelia frowned. "Is something going on?"

"No, just being prepared," Buffy answered.

Cordelia smiled, relieved. "Oh good. Because for a minute there, I thought that something really bad—_was_ _happening_!" Cordelia sank down to the floor, holding her head in her hands. "Oh god, not one of these!"

Wesley and Angel rushed to Cordelia's side as Buffy and Anya looked on in shock.

"Oh my god! What's wrong with her?" Buffy asked, wide-eyed. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Oh…" Cordelia moaned.

"She looks really…pained," Anya said.

"She's having a vision," Angel explained, holding Cordelia upright. "Cordy? Cordy, what did you see?"

Cordelia took a deep breath, trying to concentrate through the pain. "A girl. She's unconscious, and she's in trouble. Some men are taking her. In a car I think."

"The men? What did they look like?" Wesley asked.

"I didn't see their faces, but they have dark hair. And there was also…oh god!" Cordelia held her forehead as the pain struck again, and more of the vision became clear.

"What? What is it?" Angel asked.

"Vampires. I see vampires too. Oh god. They're going to kill her, Angel!'

"Where, Cordelia?" Angel demanded.

"I-I don't know. Some old, abandoned building? Wait, I saw a sign! Southern California Bottling Company!"

"The old bottle factory," Buffy said. "That's not too far from here. Let's go."

"Get some rest. We'll be back soon," Wesley instructed, then followed Buffy and Angel.

"Wait!" Cordelia called out before the three could run out the door.

"What is it?" Wesley asked.

"I-I think I recognized the girl. I think I know who she is."

"Who?" Buffy asked.

"It's…Faith."

* * *

A/N: Oh, cliffhanger! *Evil laugh* :D

I've been waiting and waiting for Cordelia to have that vision! Oh, and yes. Totally bringing Faith into this now. So…anyone want to take a guess at who's after her? ;)


	31. Help The Helpless

"Faith? _Faith?"_ Buffy walked over to Cordelia. "Are you _sure?"_

"No, not a hundred percent, but if it's not her, it's someone who looks an awful lot like her."

"These vampires? Were they…warriors?" Wesley asked.

Cordelia shook her head, then stopped when moving her head made her pain worse. "No, I don't think so. I mean, they didn't look big and brutal or anything like that. They just looked like regular vamps."

"Are you sure one of them wasn't Maleficus?" Angel asked.

"No, I don't think so. Oh, but I just remembered something else! The men. They seemed really…business-like. Like they had this thing well-planned or something."

Wesley frowned, turning to Angel. "Wolfram & Hart?" he suggested.

Angel shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they were behind the attack on Buffy after all."

"And now they're going after Faith?" Wesley asked.

"We better go. We may be running out of time."

"You can't be serious!" Buffy said, turning to Angel with her jaw dropped. "Angel, we're talking about Faith here! She tried to _kill_ you!"

"I know. But that doesn't matter right now. She's in trouble, and we can't let her die."

"Last year she was more than willing to let you die."

"The Powers wouldn't send us a message for nothing."

"We really need to go," Wesley urged, halfway out the door.

Angel stared at Buffy. "I'm going with or without you. Are you coming?"

"You're right," Buffy relented. "We can't let her die. Let's go," she said as she followed Angel out the door.

* * *

_Earlier that evening…_

Spike switched on his television and sat down with a cup of pig's blood. He was beginning to get used to the taste, he realized in horror, but the good stuff was hard to come by these days so he might as well get used to it.

He was just getting into the sitcom on channel 3 when the picture became fuzzy.

"Bugger," Spike muttered as he got up and hit the television on its side in an effort to make it work better. The television's reception was crappy at best, but it was better than nothing.

Spike's efforts to improve the reception had only made it worse, and now the channel was completely fading out. He adjusted the antennae, and when that also failed, he simply changed the channel. Apparently tonight, he was watching the news.

"_Authorities tonight are looking for a coma patient kidnapped from a local after-care facility. The patient in question is nineteen-year-old Faith Lehane who, incidentally, is wanted by the police in connection to a series of homicides and assaults last year."_

Spike took a look at the picture flashed on the screen. He hadn't seen her before, but the name sounded familiar. Why though, he wasn't sure.

"_Police believe two unidentified Caucasian males, shown here in this security footage, may be involved. Miss Lehane remains in a coma at this time. If you have any information about the identity of the men or any other information about this case, please contact the Sunnydale Police Department at 555-2629. Now for the weather, let's check in with meteorologist—"_

Spike turned the television off. News was boring. He wanted some action. He picked up his glass, downed the rest of the pig's blood, and headed out the door. Maybe tonight he'd get lucky and kill himself a troll demon, or something else equally impressive.

* * *

Spike had been strolling past the Magic Box when he saw Wesley, Angel, and Buffy running out and heading for Angel's convertible.

"Loading up in the Angel-mobile, eh?" Spike quipped. Angel and Buffy both glanced at him briefly.

"Go away, Spike," Buffy warned.

Without asking for an invitation, Spike hopped into the backseat, surprising Wesley. "What are we fighting?"

Buffy turned around and glared at him. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"Tagging along, what's it look like?"

"We really need to get going," Wesley said.

Buffy and Angel exchanged glances, both considering whether or not to let Spike come along, or waste time trying to kick him out.

"Fine," Buffy conceded. "But if you cause _any_ trouble, I'm kicking you out! Got it?"

Spike smirked. "I'll be on my best behavior, Slayer." He didn't care if the slayer and the poof were pissed at him for horning in. He just wanted some action.

* * *

"The Council should have sent us to finish this job months ago," Weatherby complained as he stopped at a red light. "How's sleeping beauty back there?"

Collins turned around, checking on their backseat passenger. "She's out cold. Do you really think the restraints are necessary? She's in a coma. I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon."

"Of course they're necessary. Rule number one: never underestimate a rogue slayer. Where's the turn already?"

"Not far. Should be coming up on the right."

A few minutes later, Weatherby pulled the car into an empty parking lot. "Showtime."

Collins opened the back passenger door and lifted Faith out of the car..

"It's time for your Cruciamentum, Faith," Weatherby joked.

"Her eighteenth birthday has already passed, nitwit."

"Better late than never."

"Where the bloody hell have you two been?" Smith asked, greeting them at the door. "I've been waiting for hours! The natives are getting restless."

Weatherby smirked. "Like they'd want to nosh on you. Let's hurry up and get this over with. Travers is likely to be sitting by his phone waiting for a report."

* * *

They arrived at the factory in less than ten minutes, and Angel's '67 Plymouth screeched to a stop.

Angel got out of car and headed for the trunk, grabbing various weapons for the group. "Let's go."

Once inside, the chaos was immediately apparent.

Buffy turned to Spike. "You. Get Faith," she ordered.

Spike did as he was told, while Buffy and Angel focused on the vampires clustered around like vultures after a carcass. It took them less than a minute to kill four of them.

A fifth one, seeing his buddies turn to dust, attempted to get away.

"Not another move, vampire," Wesley said, holding his crossbow in position.

Angel grabbed the vampire by the collar, surprising him. "You working for someone?"

"Whoa! Take it easy, man!"

"I asked if you were working for someone!" Angel tightened his grip on the vampire. "Did Wolfram & Hart send you?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You're going to tell me everything. And if you don't, I'll kill you."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

Angel held a stake to his chest.

"No! No! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just don't kill me!"

"Start talking," Angel hissed.

"It wasn't my idea, okay? It was these three British dudes! They said we'd be doing them a favor!"

"How about you start making some sense?"

"They told us to wait here, and that if we wouldn't kill them, they'd bring us a slayer. Will you let me go now?"

"Sure," Angel said casually, then staked the vampire into dust.

"Is she…alright?" Wesley asked, looking in Spike's direction.

"A few bruises, but no bite marks on her," he replied. "Surprisingly."

"They were probably too busy tearing each other up," Buffy said. "We should get her back to the nursing home. I'm sure they must be looking for her."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a voice from across the room.

From the back room emerged three men all armed with crossbows. One of them looked directly at Wesley.

"Hello, Wesley," Collins said. "It's been a while."

"Collins. I should have known the Council would eventually send you," Wesley said. "Although killing the girl is a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"Who the hell are you?" Buffy asked.

"Special Operations Unit of the Watchers' Council, Miss Summers." Weatherby replied. "A little surprising to see you here I must say. It was my understanding you and Faith weren't on such good terms."

"Put your crossbows down," Buffy demanded, but the men made no move to do so. "I said, put your crossbows _down_!" The men reluctantly complied the second time, sitting their weapons on the floor.

Buffy glanced at Angel. "Angel?"

"I've got it," he said, taking the weapons from them.

"Tie them up," she said, pointing to the ropes on the floor.

"Don't make one move," Wesley warned. "I won't hesitate to use this!"

Weatherby snickered. "I'd like to see you try. _Stupid ponce_," he muttered.

"This is Council business, Wesley," Collins said. "This is none of your concern."

"I think is our concern when you bring attempted murder into the equation."

Collins shook his head. "What happened to you, Wesley? You used to believe the Council stood for something. Now you're fighting against us? And with _him_?" Collins pointed at Angel.

"The Council used to stand for something, and now its honor has been sullied by the likes of you. Murder is something I'll never condone. Of a human anyway."

"It is by order of the Watchers' Council that Faith be punished for the crimes she has committed," Collins said.

"So murder is her punishment?" Angel asked, tightening the knot around Collin's arms.

"It's time for a new slayer to be called," Weatherby added, turning to Buffy. "We don't care much about you, Miss Summers. You've proven to be an exemplary slayer despite your inability to work with us. But that trash over there gives the Council a bad name. There are plenty of other girls we've been training that have the chance to become extraordinary slayers once she's eliminated."

Smith, seeing Wesley turn away for a moment, attempted to make a run for it. Buffy, however, was quick to stop him. She grabbed him from behind, held his arms behind his back, and held him until it hurt.

"I really wouldn't try that again if I were you," Buffy said, giving Smith another tug.

"Do you have your cell phone, Wes?" Angel asked as he finished tying Weatherby with the very restraints used on Faith.

"Yes, I believe I do." Wesley fished into his pocket for the phone.

"Why don't you call the police? I believe these gentlemen have committed a crime."

* * *

Spike, much to his surprise, had somehow been given the task of returning Faith to the after-care facility. Although the vibes he'd been getting from Buffy, he shouldn't be surprised really. The slayer obviously wanted nothing to do with her, and so of course, she would trust Spike with her.

Now that he was putting the pieces of the puzzle together, he realized why Faith had sounded familiar to him earlier. He hadn't been around when she was causing all the mayhem and destruction last year, but he had heard the stories. The "rogue slayer". The slayer who had not only gone to the dark side, but enjoyed it as well.

Spike couldn't help but like that.

At this hour of night, the nursing home was quiet, dead almost. Not so much of an understatement. Most of the patients here were circling the drain anyway. Spike made his way to the front desk and waited a moment for the red-haired, rotund nurse behind the counter to notice his presence. When she finally looked up, she jumped a little. Maybe it was the hair, he thought. People sometimes gave him that reaction. And then she noticed he was carrying someone.

"I found her," Spike explained. "Heard on the telly she'd gone missing."

"Marge!" she hollered across the room to another nurse. "The coma girl is back!" The front desk nurse turned her attention back to Spike. "Let me get a gurney! Just a moment!"

The nurse came back a few seconds later, wheeling a gurney, and Spike placed the slayer on it. "I'm so glad you found her! Thank you for bringing her back."

Spike shrugged, and was about to leave them be, but something held him back. A movement. That's what it had been. A movement ever so slight, but he'd seen it. And then to both of their surprise, the girl in question opened her eyes.

Faith settled her gaze on Spike, a look of shock, apprehension, and fear on her features. "Where I am? Who are you?"

"Marge!" the nurse called again.

A large woman, presumably Marge, came barreling down the corridor. "You don't have to shout. I heard you the first time."

"What's going on?" Faith asked, growing more agitated by the second. She looked at the strangers surrounding her. "Where am I? Who are you people?"

"Oh dear," Marge said. "The girl's awake. How is this possible?"

"What happened to me?" Faith asked, frustrated that no one was answering her questions.

"Faith, honey, you're in a nursing home," the other nurse cooed. "You've been in a coma."

Faith winced, hating the syrupy tone of the nurse. She wasn't a child.

"I better page Dr. Leroy," Marge said. "He's not going to believe this."

Faith turned her attention again to the man with bleach blond hair, who had yet to say anything. "Who are you?" she demanded again.

"I'm the one who saved you, luv," Spike replied.

* * *

_London_

Quentin Travers read his newspaper over breakfast, just as he did every morning. But unlike every other morning, today would not be a typical day. He glanced at the grandfather clock across the room, noting the time. _Should be any moment now_, he thought to himself.

"More tea, Mr. Travers?"

He moved his cup across the table, allowing his maid to refill it. "Yes, thank you, Teresa."

"You're up mighty early this morning, Mr. Travers. It must be a busy day for you."

Quentin smiled. "It is, Teresa. A very busy day indeed. An important day as well."

"Well I'll let you get to it," Teresa said, smiling as she left with Quentin's leftover eggs and sausage.

Quentin stared at his phone. "Come on," he muttered, willing it to ring. He was anxious for a report. The Council had gone too long without a new slayer, and it was high time their organization got back to doing what it did best.

Sixteen-year-old Bianca Barrington showed the most promise. The Council had found her when she was a mere seven-years-old at a local gymnastics competition, and had been training her for this day ever since.

Fifteen-year-old Clea Davis also had potential, but the Council had only identified her five months ago. She would have a slight disadvantage if she were called, as she hadn't been training as long as Bianca, but who knew, maybe Clea would surprise them all. Perhaps Clea would be the greatest slayer ever called.

The calling of a new slayer was always a gamble. Sometimes they got lucky, and the young girls called were ones the Council had identified themselves as being potential slayers. Kendra Young had been one of those girls, and Quentin mourned the loss of her. She would have truly been a gifted slayer had she not been so foolish in Sunnydale.

Other times, the calling was completely random, as in the case of Buffy Summers. But Buffy had surprised them all, passing her Cruciamentum with flying colors. If it weren't for the girl's fierce independent streak, she would be the perfect slayer.

And then there was the case of Faith Lehane. Well, unfortunately, there were always a few bad apples in the barrel. But that problem would be taken care of soon enough.

Quentin's mobile buzzed, and he answered the phone immediately. "Travers speaking. Tell me you have good news."

"_I'm afraid there's been a problem, Mr. Travers_," said the voice on the other line.

_

* * *

_

A/N: So yay! Faith's awake! I'm really glad everyone's excited I'm bringing her into the story. You might be interested to know that originally, I hadn't planned on it. I was going to leave her in a coma. But then I realized I needed her after all. Keeping her in a coma until now was a very good thing too, because now I can take her story in a totally different direction, one that I like even better. I hope you'll like it too. I love when things work out that way. Sure makes this whole story-writing process just a little bit easier…

As for the Watchers' Council, I didn't think it was too unreasonable to have them try to kill her. They almost killed Buffy when she was trapped in Faith's body, so it seems plausible. And think about it…what does the Watchers' Council do anyway when they don't have a slayer to control? They needed something to do, lol.

Until chapter 32! :)


	32. Who Am I?

"Definitely an interesting night," Angel said as he followed Buffy inside, closing the door behind them.

"Yeah." Buffy ambled into the living room, tossing her keys on the coffee table. She switched the lamp on by the couch and sat down.

Angel leaned against the wall, watching her with concern. "You okay?"

"I just keep thinking about those Council guys. I'm so glad Giles and I aren't a part of that anymore."

"Me too." Angel sat down in the chair beside her.

"What if they had decided to go after me when I was in a coma? Or what if I decided to quit slaying? I've renounced my calling a time or two. Who's to say they wouldn't get rid of me so they could have some other girl take my place?"

"I'd never let that happen."

Buffy smiled. "At least they said they don't care about me. Maybe they'll leave me alone."

"Buffy?"

Buffy and Angel looked towards the stairs, seeing Willow, followed by Tara, making their way down.

"Sorry, Will, did we wake you?"

"No, we were already up. We heard about Cordelia's vision. Is Faith…?"

"Back at the nursing home," Buffy answered. "Safe and sound."

"Who took her?" Tara asked, curious. "Was it that law firm? Wolf-something Hart?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. It was the Watchers' Council."

"_The_ _Watcher's Council_?" Willow asked, wide-eyed. "Why would they—"

"To activate a new slayer," Angel replied.

"They wanted to kill her?" Tara asked.

"Apparently Faith's no use to anyone in a coma," Buffy said.

Willow sat down in a chair, letting this information sink in. "Wow. I knew the Council was a little unethical at times….but murder is a bit extreme. I'm glad Giles and Wesley don't work for them anymore."

"That seems to be the general consensus," Buffy said.

* * *

Faith stared at the ceiling and tried not to shiver in her hospital gown. She'd like to get out of here, but her legs had turned to jelly, refusing to cooperate. And besides, where would she go anyway? She had been whisked away in an ambulance and sent straight to the hospital, where doctors and a few other people were anxious to poke and prod her. And no one was bothering to answer any of her questions.

How the hell did she end up here? Where was here anyway? And how long had she been like this?

She had surmised her first name must be Faith, or at least that's what everyone was calling her. But as for the rest of her name, she didn't have a clue.

"Hey, Doogie?" Faith said, getting the attention of the young tech preparing the MRI machine. "Do you know what my name is? My last name, I mean. I don't remember." It was amazing. She could remember a lame television show from the early 90s, but when it came to her own name, she couldn't remember a damn thing.

"Your last name is Lehane," the man answered with a tight, forced smile.

_Lehane. Faith Lehane_. It was strange how something that should feel so familiar could feel so…unfamiliar.

"Try to remain still if you would so we can take some good scans," the tech said. "Are you claustrophobic at all?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? What part of 'I have amnesia' don't you understand?"

"Just try to relax then," he said, then pushed a button that turned on the MRI.

Faith took a deep breath as she felt herself sliding into the tunnel. No, she wasn't afraid of closed spaces.

She was afraid of not knowing who she was.

* * *

_She sat on the bed by Angel's side, holding his hand as he lay there suffering. Reaching for a cool, wet cloth, she placed it on his cheek; a vain attempt to bring his fever down._

"_It'll be okay. You'll be okay."_

"_Is he dead yet?" Faith's voice asked, taunting. "The Mayor got me the poison. Said it was wicked painful."_

"_There's a cure."_

"_Damn. What is it?"_

"_Your blood. As justice goes, it's not un-poetic, don't you think?" _

"_Come to get me? You gonna feed me to Angel? You know you're not going to take me alive."_

"_Not a problem."_

"_Well, look at you. All dressed up in big sister's clothes."_

"_You told me I was just like you. That I was holding it in."_

"_Ready to cut loose?"_

"_Try me."_

_They fought for a while, eventually falling through the window and landing on the terrace below. As Faith recovered from the fall, she handcuffed Faith's wrist to her own._

"_What's the matter? All that killing, you afraid to die?"_

_Faith spun around, managing to snap the handcuff chain off, then grabbed a pipe for a weapon._

_She pulled out Faith's knife instead._

"_That's mine."_

"_You're about to get it back."_

_The two exchanged blows again. Faith dodged the knife before moving to the edge of the terrace, holding her at the edge._

"_Man, I'm going to miss this."_

_She broke Faith's grip and plunged the knife into her abdomen. For a moment, she couldn't believe she had actually done it._

_Faith looked stunned for a moment, then smiled weakly. "You did it." Faith punched her, throwing her back. "You killed me."_

_She watched as Faith climbed onto the wall at the edge of the terrace._

"_Still won't help your boy, though. Shoulda been there, B, quite a ride."_

_Faith suddenly fell backwards, surprising Buffy._

_When she looked down to the ground below, she watched as her best chance to cure Angel was carried away by a moving truck._

Buffy opened her eyes, feeling her heart racing.

* * *

Angel turned to his side, his arm instinctively reaching for Buffy. When he realized she wasn't beside him, he awoke.

In the dim light, he could make out her figure. She stood by the window; the light of the moon illuminating her face.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned around, crossing her arms as if she'd felt a chill. "I couldn't sleep. I remembered something. I guess this whole thing with Faith triggered a memory."

"Tell me what you remembered."

Buffy walked back to the bed and sat down. "I didn't exactly know what happened that night, only what people told me, or what I wrote in my diary, which wasn't much. But now I remember it all."

"You mean what happened with Faith?"

Buffy nodded, and was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "I tried to kill her, Angel. When you were dying? I wanted nothing more than to kill her. And if she hadn't fallen off the terrace, I would have finished it. I already stabbed her. I wouldn't have stopped."

Buffy wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. "Slayers aren't supposed to take human lives. That's murder, and that's not what we do. But after what she did to you? Killing her felt perfectly justified. And you want to know what the scary part is? If I was faced with the same decision now, I'm not so sure I would do any differently. What does that say about me?"

"It says you're human. Don't blame yourself for that, Buffy. Your reaction that to situation is not uncommon. When someone hurts someone you love, it's only natural to want to feel revenge, to make them hurt and suffer the way you are. And the truth is…I wanted to kill her too. When you told me a slayer's blood was the cure, I immediately thought of Faith. I knew you weren't going to give up trying to help me, and I would have much rather had you sacrifice Faith than yourself."

"When Cordelia had that vision and said Faith was in trouble, I didn't want to help her. At first, anyway. All I could think of was the fact that she tried to take you away from me, so why should I do her any favors? But when I saw for myself what was happening to her, I felt guilty. What the Council did wasn't right. Killing her that way wouldn't be justified at all."

"No, it wouldn't."

"I mean, don't get me wrong…I still hate her. But she's in a coma, and that's probably justice enough. I'm glad we could save her. It sort of makes up for the guilt I feel."

"Yeah. We did a good thing tonight."

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"There was something else I remembered."

"What's that?"

"You. I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I remembered you were in bed, and you were so sick. I was so scared."

Angel wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to lay down beside him. "I was scared too. But it's okay now."

"I know, but remembering it…" Buffy turned her head slightly, gazing at him. "In case I don't say it enough, I love you."

Angel kissed the side of her head and pulled her closer to him. "I love you, too."

"I'm glad you spent the night." Buffy closed her eyes, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. She could finally sleep now.

* * *

Buffy squinted her eyes as the morning sunlight poured into her bedroom. Just as she was wondering where Angel was, she noticed a note on his pillow. She grabbed the little piece of paper and scanned it with sleepy eyes.

_It's almost dawn. I didn't want to wake you. You're so beautiful when you're sleeping._

_Love,_

_Angel_

Buffy smiled, holding the note close to her chest as she stretched out lazily on the bed. Then she curled up against his pillow, burying her nose in the cushion and smiling when she realized it still smelled like him.

After finally dragging herself out of bed, she took a quick shower and headed downstairs. In the kitchen, Willow and Tara sat at the breakfast bar eating cereal, and one of them had thankfully put on a pot of coffee.

"Morning," Buffy said.

"Hey, Buffy," Tara said.

"Morning," Willow said. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I managed to get a few good hours of sleep." She grabbed the coffee pot and filled her mug.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Willow asked.

Buffy joined the girls at the bar. "Well, let's see, research, research, and did I mention research?"

Tara frowned. "Still nothing about Maleficus' whereabouts, huh?"

The shrill sound of the phone ringing startled Buffy for a moment.

"I'll get it," Willow said, getting up from the barstool to answer it.

"No, not a clue about where he's hiding."

"Well I do have a little good news, Buffy," Tara said, smiling.

"I could use news of the good."

"Willow and I tried this new spell last night. It's sort of like a counteractive spell. When I tried it, Willow couldn't do any magic."

"Really?"

"Well, for fifteen seconds anyway. The spell obviously needs some more tweaking."

"All the same, I think it's great progress."

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned around, seeing Willow standing in the doorway waving the phone. "It's for you. It's someone from the Sunnydale Nursing Home?"

"That's probably about Faith," Buffy said. "They have me listed as an emergency contact for her." Buffy walked over to Willow and took the phone from her. "Hello?"

Willow went back to her seat and watched Buffy on the phone. She couldn't hear what the lady on the other end was saying, but from the expression on Buffy's face, it didn't appear to be good news.

"_What?_ When?"

"I thought Faith was okay," Tara whispered.

Willow nodded, but her mind was distracted. She threw Buffy a look. "_What's going on?" _she mouthed.

"Thank you for calling," Buffy said, placing the phone back on its cradle.

"What was that about?" Willow asked.

"I need to get to the hospital," Buffy answered. "Faith woke up from her coma last night."

Willow's eyes grew wide. "_What?"_

"I need to call Giles." Buffy grabbed her cell phone by the door. "I'll meet you guys later at the Magic Box." Within moments, Buffy was out the door.

Tara looked to Willow, confused. "I don't understand. Why does Buffy seem so upset about Faith?"

"Faith doesn't do too well with authority figures," Willow answered. "Come on, let's get ready to go, and I'll explain all about Faith on the way."

* * *

A/N: So I don't know if any of you picked up on the fact that something was a little different about Faith in the last chapter, but if you did, you were right! I tried not to make her amnesia too obvious. ;) Oh, and yes, I know memory loss may be a little cliché, but I did the amnesia thing with Buffy too and it worked out for the better! Besides, I couldn't have Faith running around like a homicidal maniac, now could I? Buffy has enough to deal with!

Oh, but don't expect Faith to lose her attitude. She may have lost her memory, but she hasn't lost the attitude! Can anyone really picture Faith without it? Ha!

Until 33! Thanks for reading! :)


	33. Not All Is As It Seems

Last night, Faith had wondered to herself if things could possibly get much worse.

They did.

She gave her arm a shake, hating the fact that she was shackled to the rail of this hospital bed like some kind of animal. And were the handcuffs _really_ necessary? It wasn't as if she was going anywhere. Her legs were still really shaky, and she was beginning to worry if she'd ever be able to walk again.

The guard posted outside her door poked his head in the room and glared at her, warning her to keep the racket down.

"I don't remember anything!" Faith shouted to him. "You can't do this to me! Hey, are you listening to me? I want to see my lawyer! I'm entitled to a lawyer!"

The guard went back to ignoring her, and Faith sank down on her pillow and sighed. She hated this. How could they accuse her of crimes she didn't remember committing? _Murder?_ Seriously? Everyone, the police, the nurses, the doctors, they all looked at her as if she was dirt. They hated her. Probably the only person who hadn't given her that look was that mysterious Billy Idol look-a-like from last night. She wondered where he'd gone off to.

Billy Idol. Huh. She could remember Billy Idol.

"_Faith Lehane?"_

Faith's attention turned to the voice outside her door, and a moment later, a blonde girl about her age entered her room.

"I don't think you're my lawyer," Faith said. "Who are you?"

"You have _got_ to be kidding me! _Amnesia?_" Buffy moved a little closer to Faith's bed. "Just what the hell are you trying to pull?"

Faith stared at her in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sorry, do I even know you?"

"Don't play games with me, Faith," Buffy warned. "After what you pulled last year, don't you dare try to play games."

"Look, I told you already! I don't remember anything! What did I do?"

Buffy laughed. "Okay, fine, Have it your way. Pretend you have amnesia. But surely you haven't forgotten how to listen?" Buffy leaned forward, her face inches from her. "You stay away from Angel. And you stay away from my friends. And if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me. I don't want to see you ever again!"

"Then why don't you get out of my face?" Faith spat out. She didn't care much for Blondie and her haughty attitude.

"You listen to me," Buffy said, her voice low. "You better cooperate with the police, because if you don't, I will personally come after—"

"Guard!" Faith yelled, and the guard poked his head into the doorway. "Show Blondie the door."

Buffy turned to the guard, smiling politely. "I was just leaving." She looked back at Faith, daring her to make a remark. "Don't forget what I said."

* * *

Buffy had been in such a mood on her way past the nurses' station that it took three times for the young nurse behind the counter to get her attention.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned around, confused for a moment as she realized someone had been calling her.

The young nurse smiled at her. "It's me, nurse Chloe! Do you remember? I was one of your nurses?"

Buffy smiled back at her. "Yes, I remember. Hi, Chloe. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you calling me."

"That's okay. How are you? I hope everything's okay. I didn't expect to see you back here."

"Oh, everything's fine. I was just visiting a patient."

"You know people are still talking about you? About how they couldn't believe you came out of that coma? And you want to know the weirdest thing of all? There's actually another girl here who just came out a coma too, and she'd been in a coma for a year! It's like the most bizarre thing. Pretty soon, everyone's going to be sending their head trauma patients here."

"Want to know something even more bizarre than that?"

"What's that?"

"I know the girl. That's actually who I just went to see."

"Wow. Really, really small world."

"Hey, Chloe? I'm glad I ran into someone I know here. Do you think you could do me a huge favor?"

"Sure."

"Are you one of Faith's nurses?"

"Yeah."

"Got a pen and paper?"

Chloe reached into her pocket, pulling out a little note pad and pen.

Buffy grabbed the pad and pen and scribbled down something. "Here's my phone number. Do you think you could call and give me updates?"

Chloe frowned, taking the pen and pad back. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. The hospital sort of has these strict rules about patients' privacy. If you were family, it'd be different…"

"No, that's not what I meant. I just meant to keep an eye on her. Let me know if she has any unusual visitors or if she causes any trouble."

"She threw her breakfast at me this morning and I had to clean it up _and_ change my scrubs. Does that count?"

"I mean if she hurts anyone, or if she manages to escape."

"She's handcuffed to the bed. I don't think she's going anywhere."

"You don't know Faith like I do. If she can find a way to get out of here, she will. Trust me. Just keep an eye on her, will you?"

Chloe smiled. "Sure thing. You can count on me."

* * *

Giles looked up expectantly as Buffy walked back to the car and slammed the door.

"That didn't take very long. Did you see Faith?"

"Yeah, I saw her."

"And how is she?"

"Up to her old games again. Although this time, she's pretending to have amnesia."

"She has…amnesia?"

"No. She's faking it," Buffy said.

Giles shook his head in confusion. "Buffy, are you sure? It is quite possible, if not probable, to have memory loss after a head injury. You know that better than anyone."

"She's faking it, Giles! This whole amnesia thing? It's all a ruse."

Giles' brow furrowed. "Why would she do that?"

"Giles, why _wouldn't_ she do that? Obviously the world didn't end. Obviously she realizes the mayor is long gone. She's got nothing now, so she thinks it'll be easier for us to forgive her if she can't remember what she did wrong. But I'll remember. I have amnesia for real, and maybe my recollection of last year is still a little fuzzy, but I'll never forget how she betrayed me."

"Is she cooperating with the police at least?"

"She is…for now. They've got her shackled to the bed with handcuffs. But trust me, handcuffs won't exactly keep her tied down. I asked one of the nurses to keep an eye on her."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Giles pulled into his usual parking spot at the Magic Box.

"Thanks for the ride, Giles," Buffy said, hopping out of the car and heading towards the opposite direction of the Magic Box.

"Aren't you coming inside?" Giles asked, confused.

"I'll catch up in a bit. I've got something to take care of first."

* * *

"Whoa, wait a second," Xander said, looking at Wesley in disbelief as he heard about the events from last night. "The Council wants a new slayer, so they decide to go and_ kill_ one?"

"I'm afraid so. It appears the Council is getting desperate. With Faith in a coma and Buffy no longer working for them, this is the first time the Council hasn't had a slayer at their disposal."

"I didn't know the Council had assassins."

"Well, they've never had a contract on a human that I know of."

"Not until last night, anyway," Angel said, speaking up. He'd been quiet for the most part of the conversation.

"Indeed," Wesley nodded. "It was the handiwork of the Special Operations Team. I have not a doubt in my mind that Faith would have been killed last night had we not intervened."

"Really shady bunch those Councilmen are," Xander said.

"And Councilwomen. Remember Gwendolyn Post?" Willow asked.

At that moment, Giles walked in, and the group at the table looked at him expectantly for news.

"Giles," Willow said, being the first to speak. "Any news on Faith?"

Giles nodded as he walked toward them. "Buffy saw her. She says she cooperating with the police."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "You mean she's not going all 'psycho killer'?"

Giles took his handkerchief out of his pocket and began to clean his glasses. "Apparently Faith's claiming she has amnesia."

"_Amnesia_?" Xander asked. "You don't believe her, do you?"

"I honestly don't know what to believe, but Buffy's under the impression that Faith is putting on an act. And whatever the truth may be, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious around her. We don't know what she could be planning, and she could be trying to catch us off guard."

"Giles, where's Buffy now?" Angel asked.

"She said she had something to take care of."

* * *

It seemed almost strange for Buffy to be in a cemetery in the daytime. It looked different in the sunlight. No lurking shadows. No whispering voices. No vampires. Nevertheless, she was on her way to see one of them.

Buffy barged into Spike's crypt, not bothering to knock. She never was one for pleasantries when it came to Spike.

She found him in his bed, sleeping no less, and dragged his sorry ass out.

"What the—" Spike barely had time to process what was happening before he felt the slayer's fist connect with his jaw. Instinctively, he fought back. "Ahh!" Spike cowered backwards, cradling his forehead seconds later.

"Good, you're awake!" Buffy yelled, hitting him again.

"What the _bloody hell_ is your problem?"

Buffy pinned him against the wall. "You want to know what my problem is? I got a phone call from the nursing home this morning."

"I took Faith back there like you asked!"

"Yeah, I know. The nurse mentioned some guy with platinum blonde hair and a British accent dropped her off. She also happened to mentioned you were there when she woke up!"

"Why do you care? Thought you hated her."

"Why didn't you tell me? You should have told me! You should have called me the minute you saw her open her eyes!"

"Now why would I bother doing that?"

Buffy hit him again.

"Would you stop hitting me already?"

"Faith is _dangerous_! Last year she was hell bent on destroying the world with the Mayor, and I will _not _have that happen again! I already have another apocalypse to deal with!"

Spike began to laugh.

"What is so funny?"

"That's not what you're afraid of. I know what this is really about. This is all about your lover boy. You're afraid she might poison him again. Yeah, I heard about that. Not to mention the tell-tale sign of the scar on your neck. Good thing Peaches could count on you to come through in a jam."

Buffy responded with another punch to his face. "You act like you want to help us, and when I let you help, you let me down!" Buffy threw him down on the floor. "I should have known better than to trust you."

Spike felt his lip, feeling the blood oozing out of the cut.

"Do me a favor, Spike? Just leave us the hell alone."

* * *

A/N: Poor Spike…he doesn't get any respect even when he does good. He didn't intentionally not tell Buffy about Faith waking up. It just hadn't occurred to him that she would care. And although I feel a bit sorry for Spike, I really enjoyed writing Buffy beating him up lol. And I think it's reasonable…Buffy always seemed to beat Spike up over any little thing. Why not this? The best part of it though is that there's NOTHING between the two! And since we still have memory-impaired Buffy, she still can't really see Spike for the new vampire that he's become.

Speaking of memory-impaired…I feel kind of sorry for Faith too. Of course, everyone thinks she's faking, and it would be a good ruse if it were true. But Faith, of course, is not faking, so we shall see how this all goes down.

Oh yeah, another cameo from Michelle Trachtenberg as Nurse Chloe! :) If I was going to include Dawn in this story later, I wouldn't have done that, but since Dawn doesn't exist in my story, I feel it's okay. Oh how I miss _Mercy_. That show was awesome! But I digress…

Sorry for the lack of Buffy/Angel in this chapter. I know it's been kind of slow-going with them, but coming up soon, I've got some major B/A stuff written. I'll be really excited when I get to the point of posting that. ;)


	34. Birds Of A Feather

The fact that Faith ruffled Buffy's feathers only made Spike more intrigued with her. As soon as the sun set, he made his way to the hospital, deciding he should pay the rogue slayer a visit. And maybe he'd get lucky and snitch a bag of blood or two while he was there…

He found her room quite easily. It had been the same floor the Slayer had been on during her stint in the hospital. The first slayer, that is. Spike had to get used to the fact that there were now _two_ slayers.

A guard sitting outside the door looked up at him, bored, then returned to his newspaper. Spike strolled into the room, watching her unnoticed for a moment as she flipped through the television channels.

"I already checked the _TV Guide_. There's nothing on the telly tonight."

Faith turned away from the television and stared at her visitor. "Hey, you're that guy."

"Nice digs," he said, looking around at the room.

"Yeah, right." Faith watched as he pulled up a chair. She muted the television and stared at him for a moment. "I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Well I don't get out much in the daytime."

"So you came to see me?"

"I thought I'd stop by. See how you were."

"I'm sure I've been better, not that I can remember anyway. Not that I remember anything about my life. I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

"No."

"Well, that answers that. So then what's your name?"

"Spike."

"Is that your real name?"

"Well I never really cared much for William."

Faith wasn't sure what it was about him, but he was giving off a vibe that screamed _dangerous_. Strange thing was…she kind of liked it.

"Can I ask you something?"

Spike nodded.

"Last night, you said you saved me. What did you mean by that?"

Spike had been about to answer when a nurse walked in, interrupting them.

Faith stared at her, eyeing the blood pressure device in her hand. "You took my blood pressure like an hour ago!"

"We need to take it again," the nurse responded. "Arm, please."

"Guess you'll have to settle for my left arm, seeing as how my right one is _handcuffed."_

The nurse strapped the cuff around Faith's arm and took the reading. After taking her blood pressure, she jotted down some numbers on a clipboard, then smiled at her curtly. "I'll be back in two hours. Try to stay out of trouble." The nurse placed Faith's chart back in its holder, then left the room.

"Tight-ass bitch," Faith muttered under her breath.

Spike leaned in closer to whisper. "You know you could get out of here if you really wanted to, don't you?"

"Yeah, right. Not with that bozo cop outside and these." Faith held up her arm, indicating the handcuffs that had shackled her to the bed.

"Here's what you do. Tell him you need to run to the loo, and whenever he unlocks the cuffs, take him down and run like hell."

Faith couldn't tell if he was joking, or if he was actually serious. "I don't think that'd be such a good idea. Besides…running? Definitely not an option with the way my legs have been cooperating lately."

Spike laughed. "You really don't know who you are, do you?"

"I'm not faking amnesia if that's what your asking. I know my name is Faith Lehane. I know I'm in Sunnydale, California, which I've never even heard of. I know I've been in a coma for the past year, at least according to the doctor. And I know I hate hospital food. That's about all I know about myself."

A smile came to Spike's face. "I could tell you exactly who you are."

"I thought you said you didn't know me."

"I don't. I wasn't in Sunnydale when you were around. But I've heard of you. I've heard the stories. And I'm sure if I'd stayed around here, we would have met."

"You're the most interesting visitor I've had all day," Faith said, smiling back at him. "Much better than that boring lawyer and that blonde chick with her holier than thou attitude."

"Oh, you must have met Buffy. She's like that sometimes. Just ignore her and do whatever the hell you want anyway."

"'Buffy', huh? Does everyone in this town have an unusual name?"

"Look, you want to know who you are?"

"Yeah, I really would."

Spike leaned in closer. "You're a slayer."

* * *

Buffy raced to the front door when she heard the knock. Seconds later, she found Angel standing on her doorstep; an axe in his hand.

"You're bringing the axe again?" Buffy asked, smiling.

"I find it kills just about anything," he said, smiling back. "Are you ready for patrol?"

"Yeah. Just waiting for Willow and Tara."

"So we…have some time?"

Buffy nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

Angel placed the giant axe on the floor and went to Buffy, backing her against the wall as he pressed his lips to hers. He moved his hands up to the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair, then coming around to cradle her face.

"Alright, you lovebirds, break it up," Willow teased as she and Tara walked down the stairs.

Angel pulled away, slightly embarrassed at their moment being interrupted.

"Wow, that was quick!" Buffy said, turning to Willow and Tara. "How'd you two get ready so fast?"

"We dress fast," Willow said.

"It was magic," Tara answered.

"Shh! Don't give away all our secrets!"

Tara shrugged apologetically.

"We should get going now," Buffy announced, grabbing her own weapon of choice: her trusty stake.

"I haven't been on a patrol in a while!" Willow said, following them out the door. "This is going to be fun!"

* * *

The smile on Faith's face fell. "Look, if you're trying to say I'm some kind of murderer—"

"I said you're a slayer, not a murderer. Although I guess they're both one of the same. You're a killer either way."

"What are you talking about?" Faith asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Relax. I didn't say what you were was bad thing. Maybe I should rephrase. You're a _vampire slayer."_

The smile on Faith's face returned, and laughter erupted from her. It was the first time she'd thought of laughing since she woke up. "_A_ _what?"_

"Oh, right. The memory thing. I guess you don't remember that vampires are real?"

"Okay, someone in this room is crazy, and surprisingly, I don't think it's me."

"You don't believe me?"

"That vampires are real? No, I don't think so."

"Well you're looking at one," he said, slightly offended.

Faith laughed again. "Oh yeah? Well if you're a vampire, why don't you bite me?"

Spike shrugged. "As much as I'd love to take you up on that offer, I can't. I've been…defanged. Long, embarrassing story. I won't bore you with the details."

"I don't believe you. First of all, if you were a vampire, you wouldn't have saved me from whatever danger I was in. Second, if I was vampire slayer, you'd be dead now, right? And third, vampires aren't—"

Spike vamped out, grinning so she could see his fangs.

"…real," Faith said, finishing her sentence.

"Do you believe me now, luv?"

* * *

After patrolling a few of the local cemeteries, Buffy decided a quick sweep around the old high school was in order. Nothing like a little Hellmouth action to get a patrol really started.

"Oh…wow," she said, pausing as she looked at the destruction before her.

"Oh, that's right, you haven't seen it yet, have you?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head, still staring at the ruins of the former Sunnydale High. "No." She then began to laugh. "And to think Hemery High expelled me for burning down their gym. They got off easy!"

"Seems a shame they haven't rebuilt it yet," Tara mused as the group began walking again.

Buffy glanced at Tara. "High school on a hellmouth? Believe me, the future classes of Sunnydale High are fortunate."

"Xander said they are eventually going to build a new high school," Willow said. "He doesn't know when though."

"Shh," Angel suddenly said, holding a finger to his lips.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

"I heard something. Come on."

They followed Angel towards the ruins of the school. Angel paused at the doorway, unsure of the building's stability.

"Are we going in?" Buffy whispered.

"Just be careful," Angel warned as he placed a hesitant foot inside.

Buffy stayed closed to Angel, trying to see her way through the dark. "We should have brought flashlights."

"Oh! I've got something better!" Willow dug a small bottle out of her bag and threw it to the ground. "_Fiat Lux!"_

A burst of flame appeared before them, followed by a soft, diffused light that lit the hallways.

"Wow! Cool trick, Will," Buffy said. "Thanks!"

"It comes in handy."

Tara stared at Willow wide-eyed. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Of course you did. You taught me!"

"No. I taught you teeny tinkerbell light."

"Well, I tinkered with tinkerbell."

Angel, who did not need the light to see in the darkness, but was grateful for the additional illumination anyway, continued walking down the hallway.

With the help of Willow's light, Buffy could clearly see the ruined and charred remains of what had once been her high school. "I can't believe this is all that's left."

"I know, it's so sad," Willow said. "Can we not pass where the library used to be? I don't think I could handle that."

Angel suddenly stopped walking, pausing for a moment as he considered which way to go.

"Why are we stopping?" Buffy asked.

"Someone's here. I picked up a scent." Angel turned to the right, leading them down another hallway.

Willow and Tara cast wary looks at each other, then followed Buffy and Angel.

Stepping over a wooden beam that had blocked the entryway, Angel led the way into what had once been the chemistry lab.

"Oh, this is so depressing," Willow moaned. "All of these chemistry supplies…ruined."

"Hey! Who's there?" demanded a voice from the corner of the room.

At first, Buffy couldn't see the face of whoever was speaking, but when he stepped closer into the light, she got a good look. He was obviously a demon, short in stature, green skin, and had a very bumpy forehead.

"Get out!" the demon spat. "This place is mine! I called dibs!" The demon suddenly hurled a broken lab flask at them. Then a Bunsen burner. When he proceeded to grab a chair, apparently intending to throw that as well, Angel intervened.

"That's enough!" Angel said, grabbing hold of the demon and showing him the sharp blade of his axe.

The demon's eyes widened at the sight of his weapon. "No, don't kill me! Look, you can have the place! Okay? Just don't take my stuff!"

Angel placed the demon back on his feet, showing him that he meant no harm. "We're not here to take your place. And we won't hurt you as long you cooperate with us."

The demon looked Angel up and down, wary of his intentions. "What do you want?"

"For starters, who are you?"

"Name's Merl. I just moved here. I was living in L.A. for a while, and then this guy shoved me on a bus with a group of other demons and the next thing I knew, I was here. Looked to be a good enough place just as any to hang my hat. I wanted to get out of L.A. anyway."

"This guy you mentioned? Was he someone from the law firm of Wolfram & Hart?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"What did he look like?"

"I don't make it a habit of checking out men…"

Angel grabbed the demon by his collar. "What did he look like?" he asked again.

"His hair was brown, and he was wearing a business suit! That's all I remember!"

Angel released his grip on Merl. "Did he have a prosthetic hand? Or maybe just only one hand?"

Merl scratched his head. "Hmm, you know, now that I think about, there was something a little odd about his hand. Yeah, maybe it was a prosthetic."

"Who's the guy with one hand?" Buffy asked Angel, confused.

Angel glanced at Buffy. "Long story. I'll tell you later."

"Look, this has been fun and all, but if you guys don't mind, I'd like to be alone? And can you put that light out? I'd like to sleep eventually."

"Not until you answer all our questions," Buffy said, stepping forward. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I just explained that."

"No, I mean _here_, as in here at this school?"

Merl shrugged. "I like abandoned buildings. Figured humans wouldn't come down here. Apparently I was wrong about that."

"What about anyone else?" Angel asked. "Is it just you, or has someone else been down here?"

"Occasionally I see a few vamps. They don't seem to bother me like you are. What's with all the questions? You some kind of investigator or something?"

"Yeah."

Merl grinned widely. "Well, then perhaps we might just get along after all."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm real good at getting information. What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for a vampire who calls himself Maleficus. I need to find where he's hiding. And anything about Wolfram & Hart and their plans for Sunnydale."

Merl pondered this for a moment, then smiled. "Tell you what. Come back here in a week. I might have something for you then."

"I don't have a week."

Merl sighed. "You private investigators. You're all the same. Want everything _yesterday. _Fine, I'll see what I can do. But you've got to give me at least forty-eight hours."

Angel nodded. "Fair enough."

"Hey, you never told me your name."

"Angel."

"Oh yeah…I've heard of you. The vampire with a soul. I thought there was something different about you."

"Just get me the information, Merl. And keep it quiet."

"No problem. Oh, and Angel? I don't give out information for free."

Angel grinned. "Of course you don't."

* * *

"That was a little…strange," Tara said as the group made their way back down the hallway.

"He seems like the demon version of Willy the Snitch," Buffy added.

Willow smiled. "Hey, speaking of ole Willy…we haven't heard from him in a while, have we?"

Angel shook his head. "No, but it might be a good idea to pay him a visit."

The sound of glass shattering suddenly had everyone's attention.

"That sounded like it was coming from Merl's room," Tara said.

Angel turned around and ran back to the chemistry lab, Buffy right behind him. When they arrived, they saw the window broken, and three vampires hustling Merl.

"I don't have anything! I swear!" Merl cried.

"Let him go," Angel warned.

Merl turned to Angel, a look of relief on his face. "Oh good! You're back!"

Merl's relief, however, was short lived, as the vampire standing behind him promptly snapped his neck. His body crumpled to the floor, and the vampire who'd killed him looked at Angel and grinned.

"Sorry. Looks like you're too late for your little friend."

Angel charged toward the vampire, wielding his axe. The vampire, anticipating his move, ducked, and Angel missed his target.

The two other vampires focused on Buffy. She, however, was ready for them, kicking one and throwing him back, then warding off the other's attack with her fist..

Willow and Tara, who remained just outside the door, stood by in case they were needed. Neither of the girls saw the fourth vampire standing behind them.

"I've always wondered what a witch tastes like," he whispered into Willow's ear, sending shivers down her spine. Before she could turn around, the vampire already had a hold of her.

"Willow!" Tara screamed, watching in horror as the vampire dragged Willow away.

* * *

Faith laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Her body was tired, but her mind wouldn't let her sleep.

Spike was a _vampire. _She knew there had been something different about him, but she hadn't expected it to be _that. _And apparently, Faith killed them.

_You're a slayer._

If Faith was completely honest with herself, she thought the demon-ass kicking gig was pretty cool. For the first time since she had awoke, she felt like she was finally getting a sense of who she was, who she _really was._

_A slayer._

Faith raised her hand, eyeing the handcuffs. _Superior strength_, _huh_? Apparently not at the moment. She wanted to get out of here, and maybe she could if her legs weren't so weak. Faith settled her arm down again, wishing she could remember _something._

Spike had told her everything. How a group of British guys had kidnapped her. How he got chipped and couldn't hurt humans. How Buffy was also a slayer. How she'd gone to the dark side. That explained a lot. It was why Buffy hated her, and why her only friend in the world was a vampire.

The light suddenly snapped on, and Faith blinked her eyes. "Don't you people ever give any warning before you do that?"

The nurse, tight-lipped, marched over to Faith's bedside. "Time to change your IV drip."

Faith rolled her eyes. She wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

If there was one thing Willow learned from Buffy, it was to never be without a cross for protection.

Holy water worked well too. Perhaps even better.

Slipping a hand into her pocket, Willow grabbed a small bottle, hastily unscrewed the top, and splashed it in the general direction of the vampire's face.

The vampire screamed in agony, releasing his grip on Willow and bringing up the sleeves of his shirt to wipe his face.

While the holy water wasn't quite enough to kill him, it certainly bought Willow and Tara some time.

"_Contego!"_ they shouted in unison, invoking their protection spell. The vampire, now furious, attempted to attack again. An invisible barrier, however, was blocking his way, preventing him from furthering his attack.

"How long will the shield hold?" Tara asked.

"Um…not long!"

Meanwhile, Angel continued to fight Merl's killer, delivering several well-landed blows the vampire. Finally, the blade of his axe sliced through his opponent's neck, beheading the vampire seconds before he turned to ash.

Buffy fought off her two attackers, sending one flying across the desk and onto the floor. While Buffy fought the remaining vampire, Angel closed in on the other.

In the hallway, the protective shield keeping the vampire at bay collapsed. Willow and Tara were ready for him now, each armed with a wooden two by four they'd found on the floor.

The vampire set his sights on Tara this time. He laughed when Tara raised her weapon, then ripped the wood out of her grasp.

He didn't see Willow standing behind him. She clonked the vampire on the head, knocking him to the floor. She then quickly stabbed him with the pointy edge of the wood, turning him to dust.

The vampire Buffy had been fighting had somehow managed to back her against the wall. Buffy dodged his fist, smiling as the vampire hit the wall and punched a hole through it instead. Temporarily distracted, Buffy grabbed her stake out of pocket. She staked him before he could make another move.

As Buffy's vampire turned to dust, Angel had just finished his off as well. The two gave the room a onceover, making sure it was all clear.

When Buffy stepped out into the hallway, she was surprised to see Willow and Tara quite out of breath.

"Hey. You two okay?"

Willow nodded. "There was another vampire out here. We took care of it."

Angel walked over to where Merl was. He glanced at his lifeless body for a moment, feeling a moment of sympathy for the demon, then started to walk away. But something suddenly gave him pause, and he turned back around.

Buffy stepped back into the room, wondering what Angel was doing. "Angel?"

"Something Merl said. It doesn't quite add up."

"What do you mean?"

"He seemed very protective of his belongings."

Buffy thought back, realizing where Angel was going with this. "Yeah, you're right, he did. He did say he didn't want you to take his stuff."

"And the vampires that attacked him were certainly after something he had."

"Hey, you guys coming?" Tara asked, standing in the doorway.

"Just a minute," Buffy said.

Angel glanced around the room and spotted a bag in the corner. He walked over and picked it up, surprised at how heavy it was.

Curious, Buffy walked over to join him as Angel opened the bag and began to browse through the contents.

"What is it?"

"I think our Merl here knew a lot more than he was letting on."

* * *

A/N: I can't believe I killed Merl! That's like killing Clem! (Wait, is Merl even as well-liked as Clem?) Oh evil muse, why'd you make me do it? Yeah, you can totally blame _her_ for that idea. She said it had to happen. Eh, he gets killed off on the show anyway so…sorry you had to die, Merl!

I really liked writing the Spike/Faith stuff. I just think those two have a lot in common. Both outsiders, both kind of good, both kind of bad. We'll have to see where that goes. And think about it…if Faith has amnesia and the Scooby gang hates her, _someone's_ got to tell her who she is. Eventually she would have wondered why she has superior strength, lol.

Oh, and I snitched some more dialogue from the show. The teeny tinkerbell conversation? As brilliant as that bit of dialogue was, sadly it was not mine. (Or at least part of it wasn't) It was from "Out Of My Mind". It was the first time I was able to have Willow do that spell and I when I found that dialogue between Tara and Willow, I had to include it. :)

Until 36! :)


	35. Dreams And Prophecies

_His lips felt warm. _

_He was still a great kisser, and her body still knew how to respond; melting into him the way it always did, as if they hadn't been apart at all. _

_But his lips were warm. _

_He wasn't burning either. He was kissing her in broad daylight and he wasn't burning? Was he wearing the Gem of Amarra? _

_He was kissing her. He was actually *kissing* her. _

_Buffy felt a little bubble of hope rise within her. Angel still loved her. He had always loved her. _

_And now he was kissing her. What did it all mean? _

_Angel slowly pulled away and smiled at her. "Hi."_

_Buffy looked into his eyes, finally able to catch her breath. So many questions were running through her mind all at once. "Angel? What are you—how are you—are you wearing the ring?"_

_Angel laughed softly. "Something incredible has happened to me, Buffy." Without another word, he reached for her hand and placed it over his chest._

_She felt the steady beat underneath her palm, and it was in that moment Buffy understood. _

_As unbelievable as it seemed, Angel had somehow become human._

Buffy opened her eyes, slowly coming to the realization that she had only been dreaming.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. Three-thirty-two, and too early to get up.

Buffy turned on her side and watched Angel sleeping beside her. Curling up next to him, she placed her hand over his chest. In her dream, his heart had been beating so strong. In reality, his heart was quiet; his chest unmoving.

She sighed, thinking of her dream again. It had been a nice dream. A pleasant, vivid dream, actually.

But unfortunately, it just wasn't in the cards to happen.

* * *

"What do you mean...'_it was stolen'?_"

Lilah couldn't hide the smirk on her face as she stood outside Holland Manners' office, listening to him berate Lindsey over his stolen briefcase.

"I turned away for only a moment—"

"You _never_ leave Wolfram & Hart property unattended. What if our plans are ruined because of this?"

"Yes, sir, I understand. But I don't believe there was anything in there that was important." Though this, Lindsey hadn't been completely sure of, which was the very reason he'd sent a retrieval team to locate the demon he suspected of taking it.

"You better hope there wasn't anything incriminating in there. You need to be more careful next time, Lindsey."

"Yes sir, of course."

"Get out of here. I have work to do."

Lindsey nodded, then silently rose to his feet and left the office. When he spotted Lilah standing nearby, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Lilah caught up to him anyway. "That was entertaining."

Lindsey stopped and turned around, glaring at her. "You didn't have to tell Holland my briefcase was missing."

"And miss watching you squirm? I wouldn't have had it any other way." Lilah smiled at him before heading to the elevator.

Lindsey sighed, thinking again of how foolish it had been to let his briefcase out of sight. He sincerely hoped there wasn't anything incriminating in it.

* * *

"Do me a favor?" Buffy asked as she, Willow, and Tara walked down the sidewalk. "If I ever get amnesia again, remind me how much I love mocha frappuccinos."

Willow laughed, and took a sip of her own mocha. "Will do."

"So, not to rush you two, but any luck on the spell you're working on?"

"We're making progress. We know what kind of spell it is, which makes things so much easier."

"Not that the spell is easy," Tara added.

"It's just that the larger the spell is, the more…complicated it is." Willow tapped Tara on the arm. "Hey, we should check out _Matilda's Spells and Incantations._ I'm pretty sure I saw it in Giles' collection."

Buffy paused for a moment and turned around. "Hey, you guys? Look, I know asking you to do these kinds of spells puts a lot on you, but I want you to know that it means a lot to me that you're so willing to help."

Willow smiled. "We want to help, Buffy!"

"And besides, we need to hone our magic skills any—oh my god."

"What's the matter?" Willow asked.

Tara pointed, and Willow and Buffy followed her gaze across the street. The front window of the Magic Box was shattered, almost to the point where there was little to no window left. The three rushed across to the street and headed inside.

"Giles?" Buffy called out. She saw Giles kneeling on the floor with a dust pan and hand broom, and it wasn't just the window that was broken. Nearly everything fragile had been smashed and ruined. "What happened here?"

Willow, standing behind her, looked just as shocked as she did. "It looks like this place has been—"

"Trashed! It's been trashed!" Anya complained from the far corner of the room.

Giles continued to sweep up the glass fragments from the floor. "We had a break in last night I'm afraid."

"At least Spike picks the lock when he breaks in," Xander said, indicating the broken window. "I can probably get this fixed today."

"Do we know for sure it wasn't Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, because money's still in the register," Xander explained.

Buffy took the dustpan and helped Giles clean up the floor. "Okay, so has the place just been trashed or is anything actually missing?"

"Nothing as of yet," Giles said, "but we're still going through the inventory."

"Actually, yes," Anya called out from the book section. "I think some of your books are missing. The dangerous books I mean."

"No!" Willow screamed, a little more louder than she had intended. She looked around, seeing everyone staring at her. "Well Tara and I need those books! For the spell!"

"Why don't you girls go see what's missing?" Giles said to Willow and Tara.

"Well we know it wasn't Spike," Buffy said, looking around at the rest of the damage. "And it wasn't Faith, because according to my contact, she's been at this hospital all night. Any other leads on who else it could have been?"

Giles stood up, taking his glasses off and beginning his nervous habit of cleaning them. "Considering this is Sunnydale, I'd say just about anyone."

* * *

Later that afternoon, the group met at Giles' apartment for research, giving Anya, Xander, and Giles time to clean up the mess at the shop and finish taking inventory.

At the table, Angel and Wesley studied the contents of Merl's bag.

"How did this demon get his hands on this?" Wesley mused aloud as he scanned the documents.

"I think he was an informant. It appears he had all kinds of information, not only about Wolfram & Hart. Look at this. Memos on Wolfram & Hart's letterhead. We didn't come across any of these in the files Willow found."

"Oh, and look at this," Wesley said, picking up a small, leather-bound book.. "It appears Merl stole someone's planner. And a Wolfram & Hart employee at that."

"How can you be sure?"

"The Wolfram & Hart emblem's on the cover."

Angel nodded. "That makes sense. Of course they would provide their employees with calendars. They wouldn't want their demon raisings to conflict with their conference calls. Who's the employee?"

Wesley shook his head. "I'm not sure. I don't see a name written on it anywhere." Wesley flipped through the book, turning the page to the month of July. "What does 'SPD' stand for?"

"Special Projects Division."

"Oh right. Of course. That appears several times here." Wesley studied the pages for a moment, noting that nothing appeared out of the ordinary until he came to the month of August. "Hmm, now this is a little odd."

"What's that?"

"Whoever this employee was, they were quite detailed at what events were planned for the day. 9am: Court. 1pm: Meeting with client. But look at this date."

"August 15th. It's circled."

"And only circled. Obviously something is to happen on this day, and yet, nothing's written. If this was an ordinary person's calendar, I'd say it was a man reminding himself of his spouse's birthday or anniversary, but considering this is Wolfram & Hart…"

"It's probably something work-related."

"Precisely."

"Maybe August 15th is the day this whole thing with Maleficus and the Hellmouth is going to go down."

Wesley shrugged. "Possibly. We should see what else Merl had. Maybe we'll find some answers there."

Across the room, Buffy walked over to where Willow and Tara sat on the couch with several of their spell books. "Any luck with the spell research?"

Willow looked up, shaking her head. "Not yet. They took some of the books we were going to study."

"Hey, I have an idea," Tara said. "Why don't we check that magic shop across town? You know, the little shop?"

"Is it even still in business?" Willow asked.

"I think so."

"Good idea. And if we can't find it there, let's call some of the girls from Wicca group. Maybe they'll have them." Willow stood up, slinging her bag over the shoulder. "You want to come, Buffy?"

"No, that's okay. I think I'll hang here." Buffy glanced across the room, seeing Angel and Wesley deep in conversation.

Cordelia, who had been quiet for the most part, looked up from filing her nails. "She's hoping if he gets his nose out of that research, they can spend some quality time together." Cordelia gazed across the room at Angel.

Buffy glanced at Cordelia, hating to admit it, but she was right.

"Okay, we'll be back soon!" Willow said cheerfully as she and Tara headed out the door.

Buffy sank down on the couch, sighing.

"Which color do you like best?" Cordelia asked, holding up two bottles of nail polish.

Buffy fought the urge to roll her eyes. She wished her biggest problems were deciding what color to paint her nails.

"Ah, here's something," Wesley said, pointing to a passage.

"About the date?"

"No, but about Maleficus, or at least I assume it has to be about him. It says, 'He shall rise again, seeking out those who are inferior and those who underestimate his power.'"

"Let me see that," Angel said, taking a look at the papers Wesley was reading. "'It is the will of the Seniors Partners….will raise a great evil…chaos and destruction…'"

"It sounds like this was some sort of prophesied event."

"Yeah, it does. Wolfram & Hart is big on those. We need to find out where it is and what it says exactly."

"Speaking of prophecies…" Wesley reached into his bag, pulling out a familiar scroll.

"Is that…"

"The scroll of Aberjian, yes."

"Why did you bring that?"

"Research, of course. Not to mention the fact that the scroll was needed to raise Maleficus in the first place. It might be of significance."

"Wes, you've studied that scroll a hundred times. I'm sure if there was anything else to be learned from it, you would have figured it out by now."

"Believe me, I've looked at this scroll so much my eyes are crossed. I figured I'd show it to Mr. Giles sometime. Perhaps another set of eyes will pick up on something we missed before. And in case you haven't noticed, there is an apocalypse around the corner, one with Wolfram & Hart's name all over it. You haven't forgotten about the Shanshu Prophecy, have you?"

"Shanshu prophecy?"

Wesley and Angel looked up to see Buffy standing over them. She took a seat across from them at the table, a worried look on her face. Angel glared at Wesley, wishing he had kept his voice a little lower.

"What's the Shanshu prophecy?" Buffy asked again.

Wesley cleared his throat. "Well, it's a—"

"Wesley," Angel interjected, shaking his head.

"I don't think there's any reason for her not to know—"

"Tell me!" Buffy demanded. "Please, tell me. Whatever it is. The last prophecy about me said I was going to die, which I did. For a minute anyway. If this prophecy says the same, I'd like to know so I can be prepared." Buffy looked to Angel, pleading for answers.

"It's not a prophecy about you, Buffy," Angel said calmly.

"Oh. Okay. Well, that's good news. Except that it's not. Prophecies mean doom and gloom, right? Is it something bad? Please, tell me."

"Oh it's nothing bad at all," Wesley said, his voice up a few octaves. "In fact, it's a good prophecy."

"A…good prophecy?" Buffy looked from Wesley to Angel.

He was going to have to tell her, Angel realized. "We think it's a prophecy about me."

Buffy stared at him, waiting for him to explain, so he continued.

"The prophecy states that a vampire with a soul will play some sort of role in averting an apocalypse, and as a reward for his actions, will be granted humanity."

"Granted…humanity?" The image of Angel's beating heart in her dream flashed through her mind. "Does this mean…?"

Angel nodded, understanding her question. "Yes. It means I'll be human."

A smile came to Buffy's face. "Oh my god. Angel! This…this is so amazing! And yet…you don't look all that excited about it."

"The prophecy doesn't name me specifically. It may not even be about me."

"Of course it's about you, Angel! I _know_ it. It's not like there are any other souled vampires around here. And it sure as hell won't be Spike. Wesley, where did you read about this prophecy?"

"From here," Wesley said, pulling out the scroll again so Buffy could examine it.

"What is this?"

"The Aberjian Scroll. Quite ancient as you can see. Angel stole it from the Wolfram & Hart office a couple of months ago."

Buffy turned back to Angel, a smile still plastered on her face. "Angel, this is so amazing."

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet."

The smile on her face fell. "What do you mean? It _is_ about you. I don't doubt that for a second."

"Even if it is about me, Buffy, there's no telling when this will happen. It could happen two months from now. It could happen two centuries from now. There's no exact timetable to this prophecy."

"Except an impending apocalypse, which is right around the corner."

But Angel just shook his head. "There's always another apocalypse around the corner. Chances are when or if this even happens, it won't happen in your lifetime. So don't get your hopes up."

Buffy stood up from the table, shaking her head. "My hopes are sky high, Angel. It _is_ going to happen, and soon. I'm sure of it."

She walked away with a smile on her face, and Angel threw Wesley a look.

"Thanks, Wesley. Next time, you want to keep your voice down a little lower?"

Wesley frowned. "I don't understand what the problem is. Why wouldn't you want Buffy to know?"

Angel pushed his chair back and stood up. "Because I can't be human, Wesley. End of discussion."

With that, Angel walked away from the table and out the front door. He passed Cordelia on the way out, and she followed him outside.

In the courtyard, Angel sat on a bench against the wall. Cordelia walked over to him.

"You're kind of taking a risk coming out here, aren't you?" she asked, then looked up at the bright, blue sky.

Angel glanced at Cordelia. "I'm fine here in the shade. And my cover blanket's by the door."

Cordelia sat down beside him. "I heard some of your conversation back in there."

"I didn't want Buffy to know about it."

"Why not?"

"Have you ever heard of that old adage 'be careful what you wish for'?"

"Yeah." And suddenly, Cordelia understood Angel's hesitation. "Is this because of what happened last fall with that Mohra demon?"

Angel turned to her, surprised. "You know about that?"

Cordelia nodded. "Doyle told me. I'm going to pretend I'm not hurt you didn't tell me too."

"I'm sorry. It was sort of hard to talk about at the time."

"You want to know what I think?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."

"I think if you get a second chance at humanity, you should take it. So what if you won't have super strength and power? I don't. Neither does Wesley. Or Giles. Most of us rely on our wits alone, not our physical strength. And besides, wouldn't it be worth it to find happiness with Buffy?"

"Not if I couldn't protect her."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You're so damn stubborn, you know that?"

"Cordelia, I know what I could have had with Buffy. But do you really think she'd be alive now if I hadn't made that sacrifice?"

"I think Buffy's quite capable of taking care of herself."

"Only because I'm not a hindrance."

"So you're saying if you did get another chance at humanity, you'd turn it down again?"

"I don't think I'd have any other choice but to."

"There's _always _a choice, Angel. Look, forget about this need to be 'protector guy' for a moment. You can't tell me that deep down inside, this isn't something you want."

Angel gave her a smile. "Of course I want to be human. But you can't always get what you want."

"But you could, Angel! Don't you know you could have that someday? If this prophecy comes true… If you would just give yourself a break for once and stop thinking you don't deserve good things to happen to you. I love how you're so noble and all, but don't you want to be selfish once in a while?"

"At times…yeah. I do. But it doesn't matter anyway." Angel rose to his feet. "Even if I do get a second chance, it's not going to happen in the near future. And there's really no point in getting my hopes up, is there?" With that, he headed back inside.

"Oh, Angel, I hope you're wrong," Cordelia whispered.

* * *

Willow, having had the most bizarre dream about a man with cheese, slowly got out of bed. "Weird," she said to herself. She crept quietly to the door as to not wake Tara, and stepped out into the hallway. As she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, she was surprised to see the light on and Buffy sitting at the counter.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Willow asked with a yawn. She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was 2:05 in the morning.

"Couldn't sleep, so I'm researching. Why are you awake?"

"Thirsty," Willow said and grabbed a glass out of the cabinet. Willow got some water from the tap and pulled up a barstool to join her.

"This book has nothing useful," Buffy said, exasperated, and closed it.

"You're really worried about this whole apocalypse thing, huh?"

"What?" Buffy grabbed another book from her pile and cracked it open.

"Well it's not often I see you in research mode like this, no offense. Usually you delegate that duty to me and Giles."

"I'm not researching the apocalypse. I mean, I sort of am, but not really."

Willow took another book from the pile and perused through it. "What are you researching? Maybe I could help."

"See if you can find anything about 'Shanshu' or a 'Shanshu Prophecy'."

Willow looked at Buffy, confused. "'Shanshu'? What's Shanshu?"

Buffy looked up from her book and smiled at Willow. "It's my dream come true."

* * *

A/N: So Buffy remembers part of the day that never was…and she thinks it's a dream! Ah, of course! Maybe she'll figure it out eventually…we'll see. I personally love the part where she places her hand over his chest. Even if Buffy says she doesn't want a normal life, deep down, she really does. Just like Angel really wants to be human.

Speaking of which, I love Cordelia's chat with Angel! And I have to agree with her…he _is_ stubborn! He might need a little more convincing!

So yeah, I may have kind of built up what was in Merl's bag, so I hope that scene wasn't a letdown. But what they found _will_ be of significance…

Oh, and the Shanshu Prophecy! Finally Buffy learned about it…yay! I don't think Buffy ever learned about that on the show, did she? Not that I can recall anyway. I always wanted to know what Buffy's reaction to that would have been.

Thanks for reading everyone! I know this story is crazy long, but to those of you out there still reading…glad you're sticking around! I'm having such a blast writing it! Until 36! :)


	36. To Shanshu In Sunnydale

"It's a prophecy about Angel," Buffy explained. "It says that a vampire with a soul will play a role in averting an apocalypse, and as a reward, he'll be granted humanity."

Willow was still a bit sleepy, and that lingering dream about the cheese man made her want some crackers real bad, so it was hard to concentrate. "Wait a minute, did I hear you right? Are you saying that Angel could actually become _human?"_

Buffy smiled and nodded.

"Buffy! Oh wow! That's so…"

"Yeah, I know," Buffy agreed, for it was hard to find the words to describe how amazing this news was.

"Where did you hear about this?"

"From Angel. Although I doubt he would have told me if I hadn't heard Wesley talking to him about it. I didn't intend to eavesdrop but when I heard the word 'prophecy', I had to listen. I don't normally care too much for prophecies, but this is one I think I actually like."

"What does Angel think of this prophecy?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't really know. He seemed…cautious. He told me not to get my hopes up."

"He doesn't think the prophecy will become true?"

"He doesn't believe the prophecy will become true in my lifetime. He says he doesn't know when it will happen. It could happen two months from now. It could happen two centuries from now. And even if he does believe it's true, I think he has doubts the prophecy is even about him in the first place."

"Well of course it's about him. It's not like there are any other vampires with souls around here. I mean, I know Spike's been fighting the good fight lately, but it's not as if he has a soul. He has a chip."

"That's what I said."

"What do you think, Buffy? Do you think it'll happen?"

"I don't think, Willow. I know. I had a dream last night."

"What did you dream?"

"Angel was kissing me, and not only that, he was _human _in my dream. Can you believe that? Out of all the things to dream about, I dream about him being human! It felt so real too." Buffy glanced at Willow, seeing the wide-eyed expression on her face. "What?"

"In this dream, were you two kissing at the Santa Monica pier?"

"Yeah. Hey, how did you know that?"

"Because this isn't the first time you've had this dream."

Now it was Buffy who gave Willow the wide-eyed stare. "I've had this dream before?"

"Yeah, you sort of have it all the time, at least I think you still do. Ever since you came back from L.A."

"I went to L.A.? When was this?"

"Around Thanksgiving. You went to see Angel, and when you came back, you started having that recurring dream all the time. I thought maybe it meant you needed closure with Angel, but you don't remember him breaking up with you, and you're back together anyway. That's kind of weird you're having that dream again."

"No, not weird at all," Buffy said, smiling. "I guess I didn't understand the dream before, but I know about the prophecy now. This dream means I'm right. Angel is going to shanshu. And we're going to be together someday. _Really_ together. Like, a normal couple. Or as normal as a slayer and an ex-vampire can be anyway."

Willow smiled. "Oh, Buffy, this is so exciting! You should tell Angel about your dream!"

Buffy shook her head. "No, I don't think I should. I don't want to give him false hope on the off chance I'm wrong about this. And anyway, I'm hoping I have the dream again. I need to study it a little more, you know? Maybe I'll pick up some clue I hadn't before." Buffy yawned, then glanced over at the clock on the microwave. "Oh wow, look at the time. I better go to bed." Buffy placed the book aside and stood up. "Maybe I'll dream again."

Willow gave her a smile. "I hope I _don't _dream again. Your dream sounds way better than mine."

"What are you dreaming about, Will?"

"Some man with cheese at the Magic Box. It's making me hungry." Willow reached for the plate of cookies on the counter and gently pushed back the cellophane.

Buffy laughed. "Goodnight, Willow."

"Goodnight."

Buffy left to go upstairs, and Willow munched on a cookie and began to thumb through the book's table of contents. "Shanshu. Hmm…"

* * *

Faith ate the bacon on her plate with gusto. She discovered it was, surprisingly, not bad. Well, for hospital food anyway. Maybe the only thing edible around this place. And she was definitely hungry.

She was just finishing off the bacon and contemplating taking a bite of the eggs when she heard a familiar voice.

"If that stuff tastes as bad as it smells and you're enjoying it, then you're in worst shape than I thought, luv."

Faith looked to the door, smiling at Spike. "The bacon's alright. The rest is…questionable. Hey, wait a sec. How did you get here? I thought you guys turned into crispy critters in the daytime."

Spike pulled up a chair and sat down. "We do. I came through the sewer entrance."

"Sewers…right. That makes sense, you being a vamp and all. So you came to see me?"

"Thought I'd check to see if you were still here, and you are. Why _are_ you still here?"

"Can't really go anywhere at the moment. Walking's still kind of…impossible."

"I thought you were exaggerating the other night. You're not paralyzed are you?"

"No. Atrophied. That's the fancy word the doctor used. He says with physical therapy I should be able to walk in a few weeks. Or months. I guess depending on how much progress I make. I just need to build up my muscles again."

Spike shook his head. "No, he's wrong. You'll be on your feet in a week."

Faith raised an eyebrow. "You've had experience with this?"

"Actually…yeah, in a way. I couldn't walk for a while either. Had to use a wheelchair. Took me longer than a week to heal but your condition's less serious. And besides, you're a slayer. You'll heal fast."

"What about the brain damage? Is that going to magically heal too or am I stuck with being the way I am?"

"Still no memory, huh?"

"Not even an inkling. They say it's my episodic memory that's gone. It's like…things like language, or facts? I can remember with no problem. But when it comes to things personal to me, I'm a clean slate."

"But you'll eventually remember, right?"

Faith shrugged. "Don't know. The doctor doesn't seem too optimistic. He gives it a five percent chance at best. Although stranger things have happened. I guess technically, I shouldn't even be alive after the fall I had."

"But you are."

"Yeah, I am, as unbelievable as it seems. Who knows? Maybe I'll get my memory back. Maybe I won't. But maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Spike asked when Faith stopped talking, apparently lost in her thoughts.

"Maybe I shouldn't want to remember. Sometimes I want to remember, just to know who I am. And other times, I'm glad I don't. Maybe I don't want to know who I was before. Especially after everything I…supposedly did."

"Good morning, Faith," Chloe said in a chipper tone, walking into Faith's room.

Faith rolled her eyes. "Well if it isn't 'Nurse Bright-eyed and Bushy-tailed.'"

"I just need to change your IV bag." Chloe held up a bag of saline solution.

"Right, because I'm just_ so_ dehydrated. I mean, you've only been pumping me full of liquid ever since I _got here_!"

"I'm just following the doctor's orders. I could talk to him if the IVs are bothering you…"

"Change the IV, pet. She's just having a bad morning."

Chloe went about her duty, changing the IV drip silently. After making a note in her chart, she gave her a smile. "I'll check on you later."

"I'm sure you will," Faith muttered. "I'm so tired of being here."

"And again, you could get out of here if you wanted to."

"I thought we went over this already."

"Right, so not _now_, but soon, you could." Spike rose from his chair. "I should go. Sort of past bedtime for me."

"Right, you vamps sleep in the daytime."

"Let me know if you change your mind. I could help, you know. Not that I could take down the guard or anything." Spike tapped his head. "Bloody chip. But I could make one hell of a distraction."

Spike gave her a smile before leaving, and Faith found herself considering his offer until she realized she still had nowhere to go.

* * *

Giles looked up at the door as the bell jingled.

"Buffy, you're here early." Giles checked his watch again, making sure of the time.

Buffy looked around the shop, nodding in approval. "This place looks back in order."

"Until the next break in, I'm afraid. Last night wasn't this magic shop's first raid, and it certainly won't be its last."

Buffy set her bag on the counter and began pulling out several books. "I'm returning these books. I sort of…borrowed them."

Giles took a look at one of the titles. "_The Book of Ancient Prophecies and Philosophies._ Interesting research."

"It's uh…something personal."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No, not really. Giles, have you ever heard of the 'Shanshu Prophecy'?

"'Shanshu Prophecy'? No, I can't say that I have, but there are many ancient prophecies. There's no one book that would have them all. I could do some research for you."

"That's okay. I'll just ask Wesley next time I see him." Buffy caught the look of surprise on her Watcher's face. "Not that you wouldn't be able to help me research it! It's just that Wesley mentioned it to me in the first place. He might already know more about it."

"What is this Shanshu Prophecy you're researching?"

"It's about Angel. Basically it says a vampire with a soul helps save the world, and as a reward, he becomes human."

Giles frowned. "Buffy…"

"I know what you're going to say, Giles. You're going to say I shouldn't get my hopes up."

"Buffy, sometimes prophecies don't play out exactly how they're foretold."

"They did when I was concerned. I did die, you know, even if it was only for a minute."

Giles attempted to make his point again, but the bell on the door jingled for a second time, interrupting him before he could speak.

"Good morning, all," Wesley said, seemingly in a cheerful mood.

Buffy smiled brightly. "Wesley! Your timing's perfect!"

"Oh?"

"I have some questions about that prophecy."

Wesley held up the scroll in his hand. "I imagined you would. Why don't we have a look at it?"

* * *

Buffy and Wesley sat at the table while Giles examined the scroll before them.

"What do you think, Giles?" Buffy asked when the silence had gone on for far too long.

Giles looked away from the scroll, blinking his eyes a few times. The tiny text made his eyes hurt. "I interpret it the same as Wesley. But as far as a timetable for when this could happen, it's uncertain." Giles turned to Buffy. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you any more answers, Buffy."

"That's okay. My heart knows it'll happen soon." Buffy gathered her bag and rose from her seat, a smile on her face. "I gotta book. Thanks for your help."

Wesley waited until Buffy had left, then turned to Giles with a knowing smile. "That girl's head over heels, isn't she?"

"I do hope she's careful," Giles said with a frown, for he knew all too well what kind of trouble love could bring for Buffy.

"Well, since we have the scroll here, do you think there's anything else that could be of importance to us?"

"If Wolfram & Hart went to great measures to keep this scroll under tight security, and they're as evil as you and Angel say they are, then I'd would say most definitely so. What else do you know about this? Have you been able to translate anything else?"

"I do know a few things. This passage right here, for example." Wesley pointed to a large passage in the center. "It's the very incantation used to raise Maleficus in the first place. And this passage over here," Wesley pointed to another passage along the side, "refers to a group of children who were seers. Wolfram & Hart had plans to kill those children, and would have succeeded had Angel not intervened. And right here at the top are the words of Anatole. We used this to help Cordelia when she was cursed with a vision overload."

"What about over here?" Giles examined a large section of Latin on the left side of the scroll.

Wesley shook his head. "That's the part I've been unable to interpret, of the human languages anyway. Quite frankly, it seems as if it's a hodgepodge of Latin words strewn together in a nonsensical way."

Giles read a few passages, frowning as he did so. "You're right. It doesn't appear to make any sense at all."

"Hence my frustration with the damned thing."

"Perhaps it's written in some sort of code. Or maybe…" Giles started to laugh.

Wesley stared at Giles. "What could possibly be so humorous?"

"Maybe it's not meant to be read horizontally." Giles turned the scroll around so that Wesley could read it. "Maybe it's meant to be read _vertically._"

Wesley examined the scroll for a moment, running his finger down the first column of words. "Well I'll be…"

"Probably written that way to deter others from deciphering it at first glance."

"I can't believe I didn't notice that before! I knew it was good idea to show you the scroll." Wesley immediately rose from the table and went over to the bookshelf. He grabbed the book of Latin translations, which he had become very familiar with for the past few weeks. "I believe we have some translating to do!" he said with enthusiasm.

* * *

Buffy let herself into the mansion, and smiled when she realized she didn't have to look too far for Angel.

He sat on the couch, immersed in a book apparently, but he gave her a smile once he noticed her presence. "Hey."

"Hey." Buffy sat down on the couch beside him and examined the book in his hand. "_Ancient Demons of Eastern Europe._ A little light reading before lunchtime?"

"Just checking to see if there were any more accounts of Maleficus we missed."

Buffy took the book out of his hand and set it aside. "Okay, but do that later."

"Later, huh?"

Buffy nodded. "Mmm-hmm." She scooted closer, maneuvering herself into his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Research later. Kissing now."

Angel wasn't about to argue with that. He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to hers.

"Have I told you that I love how you've adjusted to a more human schedule lately? I get to see you more in the daytime this way."

"Well, I still take afternoon naps on occasion," he admitted, then resumed kissing her.

"Afternoon naps are good," Buffy whispered against his lips, then kissed him again. "Is Cordelia here?"

"No. She went out. Wesley's not here either."

"Yeah, I know. I just saw him a little while ago. So what you're saying is…we have this whole mansion to ourselves?"

Angel smiled. "Looks like it."

"Good. Can we just do this for a while then?"

"Do what for a while?" Angel asked, the corner of his lip lifting.

Buffy leaned forward and kissed him again.

Angel kissed her back, then pulled away slightly, smiling at her. "Not that I'm complaining, but you seem to be in a really good mood."

Buffy smiled. "That's because I am. I just can't stop thinking about this whole Shanshu thing. I wish you'd told me sooner."

The smile on Angel's face fell. "Buffy…"

Buffy placed a finger on his lip, silencing him. "No, don't do that. Don't tell me not to get my hopes up again. Just let me be happy about the thought of it, okay? But, Angel…I really think it's going to happen."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then it doesn't. But I'll still be happy, because I'll still have _you_."

"So you'll be okay with me being a vampire?"

Buffy nodded. "I told you before that I just want you. I don't care how I have you. Vampire, human, it doesn't matter. But this is so exciting for you, Angel! Just think for a moment how extraordinary this news is. You could be _human_ someday."

Angel smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty extraordinary."

"Yeah. It is." Buffy smiled back at him, then leaned forward to kiss him again.

* * *

A/N: So the title of this chapter, in case you didn't know, was inspired by the title of an _Angel_ episode: "To Shanshu in L.A." I just changed the name of the city. I figured it was appropriate. :)

So remember that scene way back in the beginning when Riley was telling Willow how Buffy talked in her sleep a lot? (Saying Angel's name all the time…) Remember? Yes! She's been dreaming of Angel _the whole time_ she was with him! And not only that, but she was dreaming of "the day". That was a little foreshadowing I put in there. ;) Of course, Buffy had no clue of the dreams, due to the amnesia and all. But they're back, and maybe she'll have more. :)

Unfortunately, she still thinks it's all a dream. One big odd and happy dream in which Angel is actually human… And she still believes it means Shanshu, when it doesn't, but we'll just let Buffy be happy about that for a while. No need to dash her hopes now.

Until 37 everyone! ;)


	37. Countdown To Doomsday

_Buffy rested her head on Angel's chest, marveling at how warm his body felt against hers. Even more amazing, however, was the feel of his heartbeat. _

_If she placed her ear close enough, she could even hear it._

_"It's a good sound." She traced her fingers around his chest in little circles, feeling the steady beat underneath. "Thump-thump. Thump-thump." _

_"It feels pretty amazing." _

_"I'm so glad we didn't logic ourselves out of this. We'll make it work, right?" _

_"We will." _

_Buffy wrapped her arm around him, nuzzling closer. "Oh, I'm so sleepy, but I still want..." _

_"What? You couldn't possibly…. Not that I wouldn't…" _

_"No, no. I'm spent. Pleasantly numb even. You?" _

_"For now." _

_"No, I want to stay awake so this day can keep happening." _

_Angel kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep. We'll make another one like it tomorrow."_

Buffy opened her eyes, realizing she'd fallen asleep. And apparently, she'd been dreaming again.

They'd been in bed together. Buffy smiled to herself. That was a nice one. She had a vague sense of her and Angel making love in the dream. It was really too bad she couldn't remember more than that.

Had she seen a glimpse into their future? She hadn't recognized the room, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe it would all make sense in due time.

Or maybe it meant the Shanshu wasn't going to happen as soon as she hoped.

Buffy sighed. She'd just have to be patient a little while longer.

Looking at Angel, she smiled at how peaceful he looked at this moment. They were lying on the couch in the same way they had in her dream, fully clothed though. Buffy placed her head back on his chest, thinking once again how wonderful it would be when he was human.

A buzzing sound in her pocket interrupted her reverie, and Buffy fished her cell phone out. She glanced at the screen, realizing she had missed a called from Xander earlier. She then remembered her forgotten plans for lunch.

Looking back at Angel, she placed her hand on the side of his head, running her fingers lightly through his hair. "We'll have that day, Angel," she whispered.

* * *

"Ahh, here's something!" Wesley said.

Giles briefly glanced at Wesley and resumed his own translating of the material. For the past hour, Wesley felt the need to announce everything he had discovered. And nothing, it seemed, appeared to be relevant to their current research.

"It's appears to be something about the Hellmouth. Another prophecy."

Giles looked at Wesley again, _this_ getting his attention. Perhaps Wesley finally _had_ found something important. "What did you find?"

Wesley placed his translation in front of Giles. "Read this last verse."

Giles stared at the translated passage for a moment, then read it aloud. "'_When the moon is full and the tide is high, the earth shall open and evil shall rise_.'"

"I think if we were looking for a time frame on when this is going to happen, it's just been narrowed down considerably."

"Except for the fact that there are a dozen full moons in a year, not to mention how many tide changes."

"True, but some other wording in the passage leads me to believe something will happen in the year 2000, specially towards mid-year. Perhaps the Y2K end-of-the-world hysteria wasn't too outlandish, just several months off. And…I just had a thought."

Wesley rose from his chair and walked over behind the counter. "Do you have a calendar around here?"

"There's one beside the computer. What do you need a calendar for?"

"Just a hunch." Wesley grabbed the small calendar and flipped it to August. "I was right. August 15th. Angel and I came across that date in our research, but didn't know of what significance it had. Not until now at least."

Giles shook his head, not understanding. "What do you mean?"

"August 15th. It'll be a full moon."

* * *

"Oh, there's Buffy," Willow said as Buffy walked into the room. "We were wondering where you were."

"Xander was about to send out a search party," Anya said.

Buffy looked at Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya sitting around the table, apparently splitting a pizza. "Sorry, guys. I sort of…fell asleep at Angel's. Hey, is there any of that left for me?" She pointed to the pizza box on the table.

"Sorry, Buff, you snooze, you lose," Xander said.

Buffy frowned, but Xander opened the box to reveal one slice left. "Just kidding. Of course we left you some."

"Thanks!" Buffy grabbed the lone slice from the box, but before she had a chance to sit down, the phone rang. Buffy quickly swallowed the bite she'd taken before answering the phone. "Hello…Oh hey. Is anything wrong?...Oh she did?...Describe him."

Xander and Willow exchanged glances as they listened in on Buffy's conversation.

"Okay, thanks for calling…Bye."

"Who was that?" Xander asked as Buffy hung up the phone.

"That was the nurse at the hospital, the one I asked to keep an eye on Faith for me. Apparently Faith's had a visitor."

* * *

"I should have never let him help with Faith," Buffy muttered as she slammed a plate into the dishwasher.

Willow frowned, rinsing another plate in the sink. "I don't understand. What's the problem?"

"Isn't it obvious what the problem is, Will? If Faith and Spike are getting along, this can only mean trouble for us."

"Maybe he's trying to get information. You know? To see what she's up to? Or maybe he's simply keeping an eye on her."

"Or maybe he's glad he finally found a slayer he can relate to. One who can do his dirty work for him."

"Look, I don't trust Faith, okay? But Spike…I'm not so sure he would do that. I think he's okay."

Buffy's jaw dropped. "Are you taking _Spike's_ side?"

"No! I'm on your side! I'm just trying to make you understand that he's changed!"

"He has a chip in his head so he can't hurt humans, but he doesn't have a soul, Will."

"I know. But he doesn't have to help us, Buffy. If he wanted to hurt us, he would have found a way to do so months ago."

"He tried to kill me, Willow."

"I know. He's tried to kill me too. But he hasn't tried to since then. And besides, he helped you before, remember?"

Buffy shook her head. "No."

"Yes you do. When Angelus…"

Willow didn't finish her sentence. She didn't have to.

"Sure, he helped me then, but only because it served his own selfish purpose."

"Okay, right, the whole thing with Dru. But he didn't want the world to end either, right?"

"I suppose."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he still doesn't want the world to end?"

Buffy didn't reply.

Willow placed the last dish into the dishwasher and closed it. "When you were in a coma, he patrolled for you. I'm just saying…maybe you should give him a chance."

With that, Willow left the room, leaving Buffy alone with her thoughts.

The phone then rang, and Buffy sighed, grabbing the cordless. "Hello?"

"Buffy?"

"Giles? What's going on?"

"Wesley and I examined the scroll again. We've discovered something important."

"About the Shanshu prophecy?" she asked hopefully.

There was a moment of pause before Giles continued. "No, I'm sorry, Buffy."

"Oh. Well…what then?"

"About the plans Maleficus has for the Hellmouth."

* * *

"So August 15th is when this is all going to go down?" Xander asked, rocking back in his chair as the group met for a meeting.

Giles straightened his glasses. "It's an educated guess, but yes. On the night of the full moon, and when the tide is at its highest point, the Hellmouth will open. Willow, can you get on the computer?"

"Yeah." Willow took her laptop out of her bag. "What do you need me to search?"

"Do a search for the tide tables for the month of August."

"Sure, I'm on it."

"So wait a minute," Buffy said, thinking aloud. "If we know when Maleficus is planning on doing this, all we have to do is stop him before then, right?"

"No," Giles said, then oddly, smiled. "We let him."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Giles…come again?"

Giles reached for the scroll and laid it out on the table. "I discovered something else. When researching the scroll, I came across a spell that seemed familiar, and I thought at first that perhaps I had performed it before. But then I realized it was slightly different."

"What sort of spell?" Tara asked.

A smile came across Giles' face. "A spell to close the Hellmouth…permanently."

"We can close it _permanently_?" Buffy asked. "Is that even possible?"

"There'll still be supernatural activity, of course, but the threat of hell being unleashed on Sunnydale will be greatly reduced."

"Will it even still _be_ a Hellmouth?" Cordelia asked, speaking up.

"It'll still be a Hellmouth, although it won't be quite as active as before. I imagine it'll be a lot like Cleveland's Hellmouth."

"_Cleveland_ has a Hellmouth?" Buffy asked.

"An inactive one, yes. It's been dormant for years."

"Wait, I'm still a little confused," Xander said. "Why can't we kill Maleficus before the full moon and nip this apocalypse in the bud? And why not do the spell now?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Xander," Giles said grimly. "In order for any closing Hellmouth ritual to be performed, the Hellmouth has to actually be open. And if we have the opportunity to prevent this from happening again, it'll be better for us in the long run."

"Let's not forget Wolfram & Hart's involvement in this," Angel added. "They want the Hellmouth open too for their own apocalyptic plans. If Maleficus is gone, they certainly have the resources to send someone else in."

"I think it's quite obvious now why Wolfram & Hart kept this scroll under such tight security," Wesley said.

Angel turned to Wesley. "They didn't want anyone to know how to stop them."

"I've got those tide tables pulled up," Willow announced. "It says on August 15th, the high tide will be at 10:24 p.m."

"Okay, so we know when this is going to happen," Buffy said, looking to Angel. "Now what?"

"We plan our strategy now," Angel answered. "And we work fast, because August 15th is just…"

"A little more than a month away," Giles said, finishing his sentence.

* * *

A/N: Okay, short chapter I know, but a lot of new info!

Regarding the scrolls….A spell that reveals how to close the Hellmouth permanently? I think that's perfect! And of course, W&H would want to prevent that since their aim is to open it and unleash hell. I figured there had to be _something_ of importance in that thing, not just the whole Shanshu stuff.

Oh, and speaking of Shanshu, you might have noticed (and thanks to a reviewer for pointing it out!) that I didn't include anything about the uncertainty of which side Angel fights on (which is the second part of the prophecy on the show). The reason why is because I wanted the Shanshu to be more about a reward for Angel. Also, I don't think there is any doubt which side Angel will fight on in my story, so just ignore anything on the show that implies this part of the prophecy. ;)

So yeah…full moon, this is when it's all going down. Why the full moon? I don't know…doesn't everything odd on this show seem to happen in time with the phases of the moon? I just threw the tides in for good measure, and it sounded cool when read in the prophecy, ha! I wish I could have found a way to work Oz into the conversation. Like, "Where's Oz when you need him? He could tell you when the full moon is!" But it didn't work out that way. And no, in case you were wondering, Oz will not be in the story, although I do love Oz! It would just be too complicated to bring him in at this point. I've got enough going on in this story lol.

Okay, so now, I reveal how much of a geek I am. I actually researched when the full moon would be for August back in 2000, as well as the tide tables for Santa Barbara. (Since Joss Whedon said it's nearby, lol) :P

Until 38…


	38. Grounded

It was his favorite time of night, or morning rather.

The streets were empty. The humans were sleeping.

And the town…his.

It wouldn't be long before this town would be his completely. He longed for the day he and his fellow vampires and demons could walk the streets freely, without the slayer or humans in their way.

Soon enough, it would be _their_ turn to hide.

In the shadows, he watched as the slayer and her group of friends headed inside, retreating to the safety of home.

He smiled. It amused him to think of the slayer out there fighting every night, trying to rid the world of his kind. A nice effort on her part, but fruitless in the long haul.

She couldn't kill every vampire, and she'd certainly failed at killing him.

He'd wait to make his move, draw her into a sense of lull, then surprise her when she least expected.

Maleficus laughed to himself. She would be his favorite kill yet.

* * *

_She was running._

_She couldn't see him, and yet, she knew he was following her._

_Buffy rounded the corner onto Revello Drive. She was out of breath, and a cramp in her side was starting to bother her, but a surge of adrenaline kept her going. Her house, a welcome sight, came into view._

_Finally, she reached the porch. Buffy dug through her pocket and grabbed her key. After a few seconds of struggling with the lock, Buffy was safe inside._

_Buffy went straight upstairs to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed, needing a moment of rest after her sprint across town._

_But curiosity got the best of her, and Buffy stood up and walked to the window. She wondered if he was still out there, still lurking. _

_Looking out her window, she finally caught a glimpse of him. Maleficus stood in the middle of the lawn, staring at her with a smirk on his face._

"_Soon, Slayer. I'll be seeing you soon." _

Buffy awoke with a start, gasping for breath as if she had actually been running. A chill ran up her spine as the dream, still fresh in her mind, renewed her fears.

Buffy got out of bed and headed to the window, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched. But when she looked out the window, there was no one there.

* * *

It always happened when she least expected.

She'd be content, doing nothing in particular. And then she'd hear her mother's voice; some random snippets of conversation from times past.

"_I'm doing laundry, Buffy. Do have you have anything you need washed?"_

Buffy paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, then resumed taking the dirty clothes out of the bathroom hamper. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to think about how much she missed her mother.

Occupying herself with housework sometimes helped.

She realized she couldn't remember the last time she did a load of laundry. It wasn't that she didn't know how, but her mother had always done it before. Willow more recently. She was way overdue at washing her own clothes.

Buffy finished putting the clothes in the basket and headed downstairs to the basement. She was on the last two steps when Miss Kitty Fantastico, excited to see the basement door open, ran down the steps and in front of her. Buffy stepped on the kitten's tail, eliciting a loud mewl from her.

"Oh! Sorry, kitty!"

Miss Kitty scampered off, running between Buffy's legs and thus, causing Buffy to misjudge the last step. She screamed as she took a tumble to the floor, laundry basket and all.

Xander, having heard Buffy's scream, ran to the basement to see what was the matter. "Buffy?" When he saw Buffy at the foot of the staircase, he panicked.

"Buffy! Are you okay?"

"What's all the commotion?" Willow asked, peering into the basement.

"Is everything okay?" Tara asked.

"I'm fine," Buffy said, although unconvincingly. "I tripped on Miss Kitty coming down the stairs."

Xander raced down the stairs with Willow and Tara trailing behind.

"Are you hurt?" Xander asked.

"My ankle." Buffy moved the leg of her pants up and rubbed her right ankle.

"I'll go get some ice," Tara said, racing back up the stairs.

Willow looked at Buffy's injured ankle. "It might be sprained, Buffy."

"We should take you to the hospital. It might not be just a sprain. It could be a fracture."

Buffy stared at Xander, wide-eyed. "No! No hospital! I spent enough time there! I'm fine, really. It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Why don't you try standing on it? Will, help me lift her."

Leaning on Xander and Willow for support, Buffy slowly came to a stand. She held her right foot above the floor. "You guys are overreacting. I can stand on it just…_fine!_" Buffy instantly retracted her foot. "Okay, standing not an option."

"Okay, it's definitely swollen now," Willow said, looking up at her with worried eyes.

"We can take my car to the hospital." Xander suddenly lifted Buffy into his arms and carried her back up the stairs.

"Guess I don't have a choice in this matter," Buffy muttered.

* * *

At the hospital, the doctor on call whisked Buffy away for an x-ray, leaving Willow and Xander behind in the waiting room.

Xander strolled up to the front desk and waited patiently as the nurse finished her phone call.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a patient. Could you tell me what room Faith Lehane is in, please?"

The nurse turned her attention to the computer and did a quick search. "That would be second floor, room 226."

"Thank you."

Willow crept up behind Xander. "You're going to see Faith?"

"Might as well pay her a visit while I'm here. Make sure she's cooperating with the police."

"Good idea. I'll come with you."

Willow and Xander rode the elevator up to the second floor. They were familiar with the neurology unit since Buffy's stint here, and found room 226 just down the hall.

A guard posted outside the door gave them a tired look.

"Can she have visitors?" Xander asked.

The guard didn't answer, but nodded toward the room, and Xander and Willow walked in.

It took Faith a moment to notice them with the TV blaring in the background. When she did, she muted the set.

"Well, well, look at this," Xander said, smiling. "I had to see it for myself. The image of you in handcuffs? Priceless."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't know who are you, and I don't really care. Your friend already came here and yelled at me the other day. Why don't you people just leave me alone?" Faith turned her attention back to the television and took it off mute.

Willow reached for the power button on the set and turned it off. "No, Faith, not until we've had a little chat."

Xander walked closer to the bed, leaning forward to Faith's level. "We know you're faking this whole amnesia thing."

"Guess there's really no point in me arguing that, is there?" Faith asked. "It's not like you'd believe me anyway."

Willow moved a little closer to the bed and gave Faith a cold, accusatory stare. "Why'd you do it?"

"Maybe I felt like it if you people were this annoying back then."

"We were your friends, Faith," Willow said softly. "We all liked you. Maybe at times I was a little jealous of you and Buffy because you had the slayer thing in common, but I liked you. You said before you wished you had friends like us in high school. So I don't understand. What went wrong? Why'd you turn on us?"

Faith didn't know how to respond to that. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything I did, or why I did it."

Xander laughed. "Oh right, back to this again. Amnesia sure does come in handy when you don't want to take responsibility, huh?" Xander leaned in closer to whisper. "Oh, and just so you know. We _creamed_ the mayor. So consider yourself lucky you fell into a coma, otherwise you'd have a seat right next to him in Hell."

"Let's go, Xander," Willow said. "She's not even worth it."

"You're right," he said, backing away. "She's not worth it. I can't believe I used to like you." Xander turned on his heel and followed Willow out the door.

Faith stared at the wall for a few moments, replaying their words in her mind. _She wasn't worth it._

She threw the television remote aside, the program she was watching long forgotten, and fought the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

* * *

Buffy, with a bandaged ankle, sat in a wheelchair in the hospital corridor, wondering where her friends had taken off to. Although if she had to guess, she'd bet they were paying a certain rogue slayer a visit.

"Miss Summers?"

Buffy looked towards the nurses' station, seeing a familiar face. "Oh, Dr. Drake. Hi."

The doctor walked over to her, getting a look at her situation. "It's a relief you're not here for another head injury. Did you fall while doing one of those axel jumps or something?"

"Actually, I tripped on the basement stairs."

"Oh. Well that's not nearly as exciting," the doctor said with a laugh. "Has anyone discharged you yet?" He looked around, seeing no other doctors in sight.

"Yeah. I'm just waiting on my friends."

"Well, be careful on those stairs next time."

"I will."

The doctor gave her a smile before walking away. It was about this time that Willow and Xander finally came back.

Willow, upon seeing Buffy waiting, rushed over. "Hey! How's the ankle?"

"Sprained. The doctor says to use crutches for about a week. But I heal fast, so probably less than that."

"Sorry, Buff," Xander said.

"Looking on the bright side," Buffy said, "at least it's not broken. So, where did you two go, or do I even have to ask?"

"We went to see Faith," Willow admitted.

"And she's definitely faking it."

Buffy laughed. "She's still going with amnesia, huh?"

Willow nodded. "Looks that way."

"At least she's still cooperating with the police. Let's hope it stays that way. So, take me home now? Please? I can't stand to be in this hospital for one minute longer."

"You've got it, Buff," Xander said as he took the handles to the wheelchair and wheeled her out of there.

* * *

"Do you need anything else?" Willow asked. "Something to drink?"

"Or maybe something to eat?" Tara asked.

"I could bring you some comics to read," Xander offered.

"Or maybe you'd like money."

Everyone stared at Anya for a moment.

"Well money makes _me_ feel better!" she said.

Buffy eyed the coffee table, seeing a stack of fashion magazines, her diary, the remote control, three of her favorite ice-skating movies, and a bottle of ibuprofen. She was even wearing her favorite pajamas. "I think I'm set for a while, you guys. But thanks."

There was a soft knock on the front door, and Tara was the closest. "I'll get it."

"How long do you have to be off your foot?" Anya asked.

"Probably just a couple days," Buffy said, gazing at her propped up and bandaged ankle. "But it's no big. I've had a sprained ankle before, and I heal fast." Buffy looked up and smiled. "Angel."

Everyone discreetly made their exits, giving her and Angel some privacy. Buffy appreciated that.

"I heard you hurt your ankle."

"Yeah. It was stupid really. I tripped over Miss Kitty Fantastico on the basement stairs."

Angel sat down beside her on the couch. "I'm glad it was only your ankle that was hurt."

"I can't patrol tonight." Buffy nodded towards her crutches propped up against the couch.

"Don't worry about patrol."

"I can't believe this is happening. I feel like I _just _got back to patrolling, and now I'm out of commission again."

"Can I get you anything?"

Buffy smiled. "You could hang out with me for a while." Buffy grabbed one of the movies from the coffee table and held it up. "Want to watch a movie with me?"

When Angel appeared to hesitate for a moment, Buffy resorted to begging. "Oh come on! It's _The Cutting Edge_. It's a classic!"

Angel wasn't much of a movie person, but who was he kidding? Saying no to those eyes? Five minutes later, they had a bowl of popcorn between them and the movie in the player.

* * *

He smoothed her hair as she rested her head on his lap. Angel hadn't intended to watch the whole movie. He hadn't intended to watch the credits either, but for some reason, he couldn't seem to pull himself away.

Buffy lifted her head, blinking her eyes in confusion. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah." Angel reached for the remote and turned the television off.

"Sorry. I didn't realize how tired I was." Buffy sat up, looking at the time. "Wow, it's late. I guess I should get to bed."

"Do you need some help?"

Buffy thought about sleeping on the couch for the night, but changed her mind. Her bed was much more comfortable. "Can you help me upstairs?"

Moments later, he was carrying her up the stairs. He tucked her into bed, then went downstairs to retrieve her crutches and a glass of water she had requested. By the time he returned back, she was already asleep again.

Angel set the glass of water on the nightstand and propped her crutches against the bed. He briefly entertained the idea of crawling into bed with her, but he didn't want to wake her. Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then turned off the light and quietly closed the door behind him.

* * *

A/N: Aww! Buffy/Angel fluff! I love it! Anytime I can throw in stuff like that, I do, because quite honestly, fluff is my favorite thing to write. :) I love how Angel had a movie night with Buffy! I picked _The Cutting Edge_ because it's the only ice-skating movie I could think of that came out before 2000. And it _is_ a classic, so of course Buffy would have it in her collection, lol.

Until 39…


	39. My Memory Draws A Blank

The only place where Faith had any privacy at all was the bathroom. She purposely made her trips there longer. She didn't care what the guard outside her door thought of her bathroom habits, but she'd give anything for a just a few minutes away from his looming presence.

It was in here that Faith discovered she didn't need to rely on the handicap rails anymore. Her legs, which had been unsteady a week ago, were now strong enough to support her to a standing position with no problem. Spike had been right: she healed fast.

She just hadn't expected her recovery to be so quick. Being a slayer certainly had its perks.

Not to mention the fact that her strength had apparently returned as well, as evidenced by the faucet handle she ripped off earlier.

Faith wondered how long it would take for the doctors to realize her recovery. And when they did, what would happen next? Would they keep her here longer, or would they send her to jail?

The latter seemed like the most likely option.

Faith stared at her reflection in the mirror, noticing the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping well, and it wasn't just because of the constant interruptions from the nurses during the night.

She didn't want to go to jail.

Faith racked her brain for a memory, just one little morsel of information about her past. If she could just remember, maybe she could prove her innocence. But whenever she tried to think, her head would hurt, and she never came up with anything other than a big blank anyway. Her life was a clean slate. Everything before her accident completely erased.

Except it wasn't. According to the police, she still had to pay for her crimes. Even if she couldn't remember committing them.

Even if she wasn't sure she _had_ committed them.

A knock on the door startled her.

"Miss Lehane," said the guard outside her door. "You've been in there for ten minutes. Let's go."

"I'm constipated!" Faith shouted.

Faith imagined what it would be like if she took Spike's advice and escaped. She was certainly strong enough, and getting stronger every day. She could take the guard down. But where would she go? What if she ran into someone from her past, like Buffy? And furthermore, what would she wear? She'd need a change of clothes from somewhere, because running around town in a hospital gown was out of the question. She'd be sure to get noticed then.

Even though she hated being here at the hospital, certainly jail had to be a lot worse. And she was already in enough trouble as it was.

* * *

Buffy laid in bed with her foot propped up on a pillow. Her ankle was feeling better, but still a little sore. She'd be back to patrolling by tonight for sure.

On her nightstand, Willow had brought up her magazines and diary to keep her occupied. Buffy grabbed the diary, flipping through the pages until she found the entries for November. When she'd first got out of the hospital, she'd read her diary often, hoping something would trigger her memory. Occasionally she'd have some small memory flash, but for the most part, last year remained a huge blank. But still, she hope that by reading about last year, maybe she'd at least _remember_ it.

She'd been curious lately about her trip to L.A. to see Angel, especially since her strange recurring dreams had continued as of late. The very ones, according to Willow, that had started after said visit. Willow had given her the Cliffs Notes version, how Angel came to town to keep an eye on her, and also, failed to mention he was around. Of course, she'd found out anyway thanks to Xander's big mouth. She had to admit, she could understand why she would be angry at Angel. But the fact that he had only wanted to protect her was not lost on her, and that made her smile. She could always count on Angel to have her back.

_**Sunday, November 28, 1999**_**:**

_I've been in a funk this weekend. I'm sure my little trip to L.A. is to blame for that._

_Seeing Angel again…I wasn't prepared. My heart did that rapid beat thing when I saw him. I hadn't seen him since the night he left, and for a moment, I was happy. Then I remembered how angry I was at him. _

_We talked. He apologized for skulking around town. And we agreed to forget each other. _

_Simple as that._

_Then I left. That was pretty much it. Well, except for the sword-wielding ninja that busted through the window as I made my way out. That was probably the highlight of my visit, which goes to show you how sucky it actually was. I didn't even get to see my father. He was away on business again. Big surprise._

**Monday, November 29, 1999:**

_So Riley asked me out. _

_I thought he'd been acting strange around me lately, but I wasn't expecting this. I just thought he was sort of…peculiar. Have I been so preoccupied with college drama that I can't even tell when a guy is into me anymore? Riley likes me? How did I miss this? _

_I can't believe I didn't notice this until he started babbling on about wanting to hang out with me. Actually, I think I might have noticed when he used the word "beautiful"._

_And I can't believe what we're doing for our date. A picnic. Does this even qualify as a date? First of all, it's in the daytime, which is a new venue Buffywise. And it's a picnic, which is, well, sweet actually. I'm more of a "let's get coffee" kind of girl, so a picnic is definitely new territory. But he's bringing all the food, so that's a plus. All I have to do is show up and eat. I'm pretty good at that. And he was kind of cute when he asked me. I think he might have been a little nervous._

_Maybe this is what I need. Seeing Angel for even five minutes…hello to the pain. What's that saying? Get back on the horse? Yes, I think this could be good for me. And Riley's not like Parker. I learned from my mistake with him. Riley feels like a safe option, like he wouldn't cause me a lot of heartache. And maybe that's what I need right now._

_I do like Riley, or at least, I think I could like him. And I like his arms. Odd thing, I know, but he has good ones. And he's nice. Different, but nice._

_So why do I keep feeling like s__omething is missing?_

_**Tuesday, November 30, 1999:**_

_I had a dream about Angel last night._

_Usually when I dream of Angel, it's all about pain, or heartache. Instead, it was unlike any dream I've ever had about him._

_It involved a lot of kissing and touching and well…other things. Things that make my limited experienced-self blush. Where the hell did THAT come from? And here I was, thinking I was finally over Angel. For months, I'd been doing just fine, and then he blows into my life again. Now I can't get him out of my mind._

_I didn't even mention the craziest part. He was __human__ in my dream._

_Okay, not like I haven't fantasized about that a million times, but the dream felt so real, almost like it actually happened. Maybe it did in some crazy alternate universe. Stranger things have happened._

_Wow, listen to me, going on and on about Angel when in just a few hours, I have a picnic date with Riley. _

_It sure would be easier to forget about Angel if I could just stop thinking about him. _

_I can't even forget him when I'm sleeping._

* * *

Buffy opened her closet and looked for her favorite patrolling shirt. Her ankle had finally healed, and now that the sun was down, it was back to business as usual.

She spotted the shirt in the back of her closet and grabbed it, knocking another shirt off its hanger in the process. As she bent down to pick up the shirt, something caught her eye.

Peeking out of a plastic garment bag was a familiar pink fabric. _Her prom dress._

Buffy wasn't sure what possessed her, but she threw the shirts aside and grabbed the dress, pulling the plastic off until she could see the full length of the gown.

Standing before the mirror behind the door, Buffy held the gown against herself. She tried to remember that night, but she couldn't. Buffy sighed. Maybe she'd never remember.

A movement out of the corner of her eye caught Buffy's attention, and she jumped as she saw Angel standing in her bedroom.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't. You just…surprised me. I didn't hear you come in."

"I saw your light on, so I came in through the window. How's your ankle?"

"Better. Much better."

"Good."

"My prom dress," Buffy said, realizing she was still holding it against her.

"I remember."

"I wish I did." Buffy grabbed the plastic garment bag and began to place the dress back inside "I remember wearing this dress exactly one time. In the dressing room when I tried it on."

"It looked beautiful on you."

Buffy smiled. "I first saw it in the window of this clothing boutique. Willow and I were looking for prom dresses, and neither of us had found anything yet. Until I saw this one. Later I begged my mom to buy it for me, even though it was outrageously expensive. She sort of hesitated at first and then said, 'What the hell, you only have your senior prom once, right?'"

Buffy sighed as she placed the dress back into her closet and closed the door. "Well…if I can't remember the prom, at least I remember getting the dress, huh?"

"Your memory will come back."

"What if it never does? What if all I remember are just these flashes here and there?"

"You just have to give it time. It'll all come back to you."

"I just wish I could remember it. Every girl should at least remember her own prom, you know?"

Angel stared at her blankly, and Buffy smiled. "Well, I guess you sort of have to be a girl to understand that."

"I'm sorry you can't remember."

Buffy shrugged. "I guess I should look at it this way. I'm alive. Things could have been much worse. So, patrol?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"I just have to change clothes and I'll be ready. Oh, and Tara's going with us tonight. She and Willow are taking turns. Wait for me downstairs?"

"Okay, sure," Angel said, leaving the bedroom through the door this time. "Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

Angel opened his mouth to speak, but looking into her eyes, he changed his mind. "Nothing. Just take your time."

"Okay." Buffy closed the door behind him.

Angel turned to head downstairs. He passed Willow in the hallway, who seemed surprised to see him there.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come in."

"Came in through the window," Angel explained.

"Oh. You're very sneaky when you do that," she said with a smile.

Angel looked down at Willow's hands, seeing the cheese she held. "Hungry?"

"What?"

Angel pointed, and Willow remembered the cheese.

"Oh! No, this isn't for me. I've had so much cheese lately…I'm sort of burnt-out on it. This is for Amy. Our friend Amy? The one who turned herself into a rat?"

"Right. I remember. She's still a rat, huh?"

"I haven't figured out how to change her back yet," Willow said as she headed to her bedroom.

Angel stood in the doorway and watched Willow open the cage. "We had to put a lock on this cage." Willow dropped the cheese into Amy's dish and closed the cage back up. "Miss Kitty Fantastico figured out how to open the door and almost got to her yesterday."

Angel walked into the bedroom to get a closer look at Amy. "Why would anyone turn themselves into a rat?"

"Desperate times, desperate measures, I guess." Willow looked up from the cage and stared at Angel. "Aren't you late for a patrol?"

"I'm just waiting for Buffy to get dressed."

"Oh."

"Willow, could you help me with something?"

Willow smiled. "Sure. Anything. What do you need? A spell? Computer help?"

Angel shook his head. "No. I want to do something for Buffy, but I can't really get into right now since she'll be out in minute."

"You mean like a surprise?" Willow whispered, grinning ear to ear.

"Yeah. Can you stop by my place sometime tomorrow so we can talk?"

Before she could answer, Buffy appeared in the doorway. "Hey, there you are."

"Willow was just showing me your friend Amy."

"Will still hasn't figured out how to turn her back."

"But I will!" Willow said. "After the we stop the apocalypse, that is."

"We should get going before some vampires start planning another one," Buffy said. "See you, Will."

"Bye."

Angel hung back for a moment, silently asking if she could help him out.

"_I'll come over_," she whispered, smiling brightly.

Angel smiled, then followed Buffy down the stairs. It was probably the craziest idea he'd ever had, but he'd do anything to put a smile on Buffy's face.

* * *

A/N: Yes, it's a very short chapter. But I feel this is okay, because the next chapter will be very long. And I will reveal Angel's surprise. Feel free to guess at what it could be. And actually, it'll be more than one surprise, so guess away! :)

Also, I probably won't be able to update again until sometime after Thanksgiving…so have a great holiday everyone! :)

Until 40!


	40. A Night To Remember

A/N: So I think I should warn you that this is an extremely long chapter. Most of my chapters average around 2000-3000 words. This one is over 6000. (Yeah!) Why so long? Well, simply because it didn't feel right to break this chapter up. It really should be read as a whole. So make sure you have plenty of time to just sit back and read it, because you really should take your time with this chapter. That being said…I think you'll enjoy it.

* * *

Willow peeked out the window and watched as Buffy walked up the sidewalk.

"Buffy's back!" she shouted to Tara. "Remember, act cool."

Tara smiled. "Okay."

A few moments later, the front door opened and Buffy walked inside. She smiled when she saw Willow and Tara. "Hey."

"Hey, Buffy. Did you have a good workout?"

"Um…yeah, it was good," Buffy said, wondering why Willow would ask.

"Well great! Why don't you go upstairs and take a nice long, hot shower, and then you can come down and tell us all about it!"

Buffy couldn't put her finger on it, but something was up with Willow. "Will, are you okay?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine! I just want to show you a new spell Tara and I are working on. But go take your shower first and I'll show you later."

Yes, something was definitely up with Willow, but Buffy decided not to push it. And she really did want a shower right now. "Okay." Buffy turned around and made her way up the stairs.

Once out of earshot, Tara turned to Willow. "What happened to 'act cool'?"

"I'm sorry, I got nervous! I'm a terrible liar!"

"Wait, shh!" Tara held up her hand. "I think I just heard the bathroom door close."

They paused to listen for a moment, and a few seconds later, they could hear the shower going.

"Good, it's time!" Willow said. "Let's hurry up and get ready."

Willow and Tara each pointed to themselves, spoke an incantation, and were soon surrounded by a colorful light. Within seconds, their regular clothes had transformed into beautiful gowns.

"What did we do before magic?" Willow asked.

"Everything the hard way," Tara replied and laughed. "Oh, Willow, what a gorgeous dress. You look amazing!"

Willow smiled. "Thanks. You look beautiful too! Oh, we better hurry! It won't take long for Buffy to take a quick shower. I'll go get everything set up. You call Cordelia and tell her it's time to come over."

"Okay!" Tara ran for the phone, and Willow rushed upstairs.

Willow smiled to herself, thinking of how great the plan was going already. If everything went okay, this would be a night Buffy would never forget.

* * *

Buffy walked to her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her. She had just closed the door when she noticed the garment on her bed.

_Her prom dress._

"What?" she said to herself, walking over to the bed and picking up the note sitting on it.

_Buffy,_

_You're not patrolling tonight. Put on your prom dress._

On the paper, a little arrow in Willow's handwriting was indicating to turn the note over. On the back, she had written more.

_Yes, put the dress on! Leave the hair and makeup to us. See you downstairs!_

_-Willow_

Buffy couldn't help but laugh to herself. Even the shoes she had worn with the dress were laid out for her. She had suspected Willow was up to something, but this…she had no idea it was anything like this.

Buffy put on the dress and the shoes, taking a few minutes to admire herself in the mirror. She didn't know what her friends were planning, but if she got to wear the kick dress again, she was certain to enjoy it.

A few minutes later, Buffy walked down the stairs. In the living room, she found Willow, Tara, and Cordelia all waiting for her. Everyone was dressed to the nines. Something was definitely up.

"Okay, you guys, what's going on? Are we going to a prom or something?"

"Who said anything about a prom?" Cordelia asked. "This is just us girls getting all dressed up for a night on the town."

"Sit," Willow ordered, indicating a chair she had brought out from the dining room.

Buffy sat down and stared at the three of them in confusion. "'A night on the town'? In Sunnydale? You mean there's actually another place to hang out now other than the Bronze? Somehow I find that hard to believe. Why don't you tell me where we're really going?"

"We can't," Willow said. "It's a surprise."

"Why are you all being so secretive?"

Willow gave her a smile. "No reason. Look, we all know it's been hard for you since your coma, with your memory loss and Maleficus and…well, everything else. But we just thought it would be nice if we could give you one night, just one night where you can have fun and totally let loose."

"Wow, that's so…sweet of you all. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have say anything," Willow said. "Just have fun, and let us work our magic."

"Now, how should we do her hair?" Cordelia asked the girls.

"Maybe an up-do," Willow suggested.

"Or half-up, half down," Tara said.

"Up, definitely up," Cordelia said.

"No, I think down. It's such a pretty length," Tara said.

Buffy stared at the three of them, sensing an argument about to ensue when it was _her_ hair to begin with. "Um, hey, guys? Do I get a vote in all this?"

"Oh, sure. Of course, Buffy!" Willow said. "It's your hair. How would you like to wear it?"

"I say let's go with down. Probably not a good idea to put my hair up after having brain surgery unless I want to show off my semi-bald spot."

"Good point. Down it is," Cordelia said. "Now, why don't you girls work on hair and nails, and I'll work on makeup."

* * *

Buffy knew the girls had been up to something relating to the prom, even if they wouldn't fess up to it. As soon as she stepped outside, her suspicions were confirmed.

Angel stood against his '67 Plymouth, and he was wearing a tux.

"What are you doing?" Buffy laughed.

"Taking you to prom." Angel walked over to her, taking her hand. "It was the first thing you asked about when you woke up from the coma, and you were upset when you couldn't remember it. So I thought I'd give you a new memory of the night. An even better version."

"Angel…"

"No, don't cry!" Cordelia said. "You'll mess up your mascara!"

Buffy glanced at Cordelia and smiled. "Thanks, Cordelia."

"I'd hate to see a good makeup job get ruined."

"Oh, I have something for you." Angel reached into the back of his car and picked up a small box. He handed it to her. "Willow told me I needed to buy it."

"A corsage," Buffy said, taking it out of the box. "It's beautiful. Matches my dress."

"I helped him pick it out," Willow whispered to Cordelia.

"Put it on me?" Buffy asked, handing him the corsage and extending her arm.

Angel slid the corsage around her wrist. "Perfect fit."

"So…prom now?" Buffy asked.

"Oh wait! We have to take pictures!" Willow held up her camera. "Because what prom is complete without pictures?"

"Isn't it a little dark for pictures, Will?" Buffy said, frowning.

"Not if we step inside."

At Willow's insistence, the group headed back inside for photos. Angel and Buffy posed for several, indulging Willow like an excited mom on her daughter's prom night.

"Okay, I think that's enough with the pictures," Tara said, taking the camera from Willow. "You guys better be going!" She pointed to her wrist to indicated the time.

"I could only reserve the Bronze for a private party until midnight," Angel said.

Buffy took hold of Angel's arm and gave him a smile. "Then I guess I'll feel like Cinderella."

* * *

Buffy couldn't remember her own prom, but she could imagine it looked a little like this. The Bronze had been completely transformed, filled with balloons, streamers, even glittery confetti sprinkled on the tablecloths.

Buffy gazed up at Angel, smiling at him brightly. "You did all this?"

"Well, I had some help. But it was my idea."

"I love it. It's perfect."

"May I have this dance?" Angel asked, offering his hand.

Buffy nodded, placing her hand into his. "I'd love to."

The lights were set low, and a slow song played on the speakers. Angel led her onto the dance floor.

Buffy gazed into his eyes as they swayed to the music. "I can't believe you did all this."

"I wanted to give you a good memory. With everything that's been going on lately, I thought you needed a night off. And also, I really did want to see you wear this dress again."

Buffy grinned widely. "I knew this dress would make you lose it. Not your soul, I mean," she added quickly. "I mean…you know."

"You look beautiful." Angel tilted her head up to his, kissing her lips gently.

Across the room, Willow and Tara walked around, admiring the decorations.

"This is so exciting!" Tara said. "Everyone all dressed up and dancing and music. I never had a chance to go to my own prom."

"You never went to your prom?"

"No. It was sort of a rough time with my mom and all, and the fact that nobody had asked me. Nobody wanted to party with the girl whose mother just died."

"Oh, Tara. I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said that. I know your mom died when you were in high school, but I forgot it was—"

"It's okay, Willow. I was just saying that even though I missed it, it's nice that I get a second chance to see what all the prom fuss is all about."

Willow smiled. "Well come on. I'll make this a night for you to remember too." Willow took her hand and led Tara out on the dance floor.

"Mr. Giles was smart to sit this one out," Wesley said, checking his watch. He'd only been here for ten minutes and he was already bored. "I wish I were at home with a cup of tea and a good book."

"Don't say that, Wesley!" Cordelia said. "If you didn't come, then I wouldn't have a prom date! Wait, you're not complaining, are you? I'm not a bad prom date, am I? I mean, you had no complaints last time anyway."

"Oh no, I didn't mean—you're a wonderful date, Cordelia. And you do look lovely. I just feel like this scene is a little too…"

"Young?" Cordelia offered.

"I was going to say 'loud', but yes, young as well now that you mention it." Wesley frowned. "Wait, does that make me 'old'?"

"You want to dance?"

Wesley looked into Cordelia's eyes, seeing her bright smile. "Why not?" he said, taking her arm and heading to the dance floor.

Nearby, Anya and Xander headed to the dance floor, arm in arm.

"Do you remember our last prom?" Anya asked, smiling at him.

"You're not going to entrance me with tales of your vengeance demon days again, are you?"

"No. I was actually hoping we could sneak off to a private corner somewhere and have sexual intercourse."

"_That_ I'm up for!" Xander grabbed Anya's hand and whisked her out of the main room.

* * *

"Oh look, there's punch!"

"Do you want some?" Angel asked.

Buffy nodded, and she and Angel headed to the bar. Angel took a plastic cup and poured her some.

"Are you having a good time?"

"I'm having the best time!" Buffy took a sip of the punch, swirling it around in her mouth for a moment. "Did Xander make this?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"I was just wondering if it's been spiked. It feels like it's been spiked."

Angel laughed.

"Can we dance some more?"

"Sure."

"Really? Because I know dancing isn't exactly your favorite thing in the world to do…"

"I don't mind slow dancing. Gives me an excuse to hold you close."

"Do you use that line on all the ladies?"

"Just one."

Buffy placed her punch aside and took his arm, but just as they started to walk, the music turned fast-paced.

Buffy looked to Angel, seeing him hesitate. "We can sit this one out."

"No, I'll sit this one out. You go dance."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Go dance. This prom is for you, remember? We'll dance the next slow one."

Buffy gave him a smacking kiss and ran off to the dance floor, joining Cordelia and a flushed-looking Anya.

Angel headed to a nearby table and took a breather.

"Sitting this one out?"

Angel looked up, seeing Wesley standing at the table. "Yeah. I'm not much of a dancer."

"Neither am I." Wesley pulled out a chair and sat down. "I feel as though I might embarrass myself."

"The loud, fast-paced music isn't exactly my favorite part, but seeing her smile?" Angel watched Buffy dance across the room. "Makes it all worth it."

* * *

"Are they still staring at us?"

Buffy gazed over Angel's shoulder. Willow waved at her, and Tara smiled.

"Yes."

"They've see us together before. What's the big deal?"

"I think they just don't see you like this that often."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. So carefree? Romantic? In formal wear?"

"As much as I'm grateful for Willow helping me with all this, I could do without all the ogling. I'd like to have you to myself for a moment."

Buffy leaned in closer. "Why didn't you just say so? I think that can be arranged."

Before Angel could ask, Buffy grabbed hold of his hand and led him away from the dance floor. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"I may have forgotten last year, but I've been to this place so many times I know it like the back of my hand."

She led him to the stairs, which led to the semi-private upper level.

"Is this better?" she asked, turning around.

"Much," he said, leaning forward as he pressed her against the railing and kissed her.

* * *

"I wish I could dance with you all night," Buffy whispered, resting her head against Angel's shoulder. They were nearing the last hour, and Buffy knew that soon enough, prom would be over. Buffy looked up at Angel, giving a smile. "Thank you for giving me such a beautiful night."

"You're welcome."

When the song they were dancing to came to an end, Willow stepped onto the stage. "Okay, everyone. I have an announcement to make."

Everyone turned their attention to the stage.

"As you all know, we're recreating prom night for Buffy, and what kind of prom would it be without the class award?" In her hand was a small umbrella, which Willow held up for everyone to see. "This was given to Buffy on prom night from the class of '99. We give this to Buffy for her courage, for her bravery, and because she's always there, helping us out when things get weird and crazy. And for that, we give this award to Buffy, again. Class Protector. Buffy?"

"I think they want you to go up there," Angel whispered.

Buffy smiled as she headed to the stage, accepting the award for Class Protector. "Wow, this is…I was wondering what this little umbrella was for. I saw it in my bedroom but didn't give it much thought."

"Speech!" Xander called out.

Buffy laughed. "Okay. All I can think to say is that you guys are the greatest friends I've ever had. But I can't take all the credit for this though. I had help along the way. Every one of you has been with me, fighting the good fight. Without you guys, I probably wouldn't be around here at all. And it means a lot that you'd all do this for me, recreating this night. Xander, Anya, Wesley, you did a great job with the decorations. And to Willow and Tara, and Cordelia, you girls are really sneaky, but thanks for making me look so fabulous. And to Angel, it means so much to me that you'd want to give me this night back, and even though I don't remember prom, I have a feeling that this is even better. Thank you."

Buffy stepped off stage as everyone applauded. She smiled as she walked over to Angel.

"I wish I had been there to see you get this the first time," he said as he took the umbrella and read the inscription on it.

"You weren't there?"

"I was…late."

"Oh."

Angel set the umbrella down on the table. "We have an hour left. Do you want to keep dancing?"

Buffy nodded, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head back against his chest. As if on cue, a slow song played, and everyone joined them on the dance floor.

* * *

"Xander's driving me crazy," Anya complained as she sat down at Willow and Tara's table.

"The dancing?" Willow asked, looking across the room as Xander moved across the floor wildly.

"No, the sex! I mean, I like sneaking off to have sex just as much as the next person, and yeah, it was sort of my idea in the first place. But he keeps insisting we do it in the back of his car and pretend it's a limo. I don't know. Some sort of fantasy, or something?"

"That explains the grin on his face," Willow said. She then leaned forward to whisper in Tara's ear. "Remind me to never to sit in the back of Xander's car again."

The fast-paced music eased into a slow song, and Xander strolled over to the table. "An, there are you. Do you want to—"

"No! I'm done playing your sexual fantasy games! Can't we just have sex in the bathroom stall like normal people?"

"Uh…I was just going to ask if you wanted to dance." Xander pointed to the dance floor behind him.

"Oh. No, my feet hurt." Anya reached under the table and took off her heels. "Why do they make women's shoes so uncomfortable? They must have been designed by a man!"

Xander shrugged, then headed over to the bar for a drink.

Over on the dance floor, Angel and Buffy were dancing again. They were the only ones on the floor at the moment.

"Look at them," Willow said. "They're so in love. This will definitely be a night Buffy will never forget."

"I think it's so unfair for them," Tara said. "I think if two people love each other, they should be able to be together. Like, really together, you know? Not in a limited capacity type of way."

"They have a lot of willpower with the no sex thing," Anya said. "I couldn't do it. Well, except for when Xander's driving me crazy, of course."

"If only there was a way to prevent Angel from becoming evil," Tara said, thinking aloud.

"I never told Buffy this, but last summer when Angel left, I tried to find a cure for him."

Tara glanced at Willow. "A…cure?"

"A soul-binding spell," Willow clarified. "I thought if I could find a way for Angel to keep his soul and be happy, he and Buffy could be together, and Buffy wouldn't be so sad anymore."

"No luck, huh?"

Willow shook her head. "No. It's not like there's a guide book for cursing vampires with souls. Every spell I found was pretty useless."

"What if you could alter the original curse?" Tara asked. "Have you tried that? You know, take out the happiness clause thing? Then he would just be cursed."

"If only it were that simple. Those gypsy magicks are sort of advanced, and really ancient too. It was a miracle Miss Calendar was able to find the restoration spell in the first place. She said those magicks had been long lost to her people."

"Her…people?"

"The Kalderdash clan. Miss Calendar was one of them."

"Oh, okay. I remember you telling me about her. I just thought she was someone really into magick."

"No, she was one of them."

"I know a gypsy," Anya said casually. "Actually, she's a vengeance demon, but she's also a gypsy. Really nice girl."

Willow and Tara exchanged glances.

"You know a gypsy? A _real_ gypsy?" Willow asked.

Anya nodded. "Uh-huh. She lives in Encino."

"Does this gypsy friend of yours know…magick?" Tara asked.

"Of course. You don't get to be a vengeance demon for nothing."

Willow smiled, feeling a small bubble of happiness rise within her. "Anya, do you think if we showed this curse to your friend, she could help us alter it?"

"Yeah, I think she could do that."

"Anya!"

"What?"

Willow almost laughed out loud. "Why didn't you say so before?"

Anya shrugged. "Well, you never asked."

"Do you know what this means?" Willow said, beaming as she watched Buffy and Angel on the dance floor. "If we fix Angel's curse, then Buffy and Angel will never have to worry about Angelus again."

* * *

Buffy gazed around the floor, realizing how empty the place suddenly was. Her friends had somehow slipped away discreetly.

"I think they're giving us some alone time," Buffy said, smiling.

"No complaints from me," Angel whispered as he leaned forward to give her a kiss.

"I loved every minute of tonight, and if I never remember my prom, I won't be sad. Tonight was perfect. Best prom ever."

"Good. That was sort of my intention."

Buffy held on to Angel tighter, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wish this night would never end. I wish time would stand still so we could keep on dancing."

A smile came across his face. "Who said the night was about to end?"

Buffy raised her head and stared at him. "You did. You said the party was over at midnight, remember?"

"I may have said the party would end, but I didn't say the fun would be over."

"You have something else planned?"

Angel continued to smile. "Maybe."

"Angel! What is it?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

From the doorway, Willow and Tara watched them unnoticed.

"You think they have any idea what we're planning?" Tara asked.

"Not a clue," Willow said, grinning widely.

* * *

"Oh, you missed the turn." Buffy looked at Angel, who simply smiled. "You're not taking me home, are you?"

"I thought you'd like to spend the night at my place. That was the original plan you had, right? To come stay at my place after the prom?"

Buffy smiled. "I do remember saying that. Of course, there's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"I don't have any clothes to sleep in."

Angel gave her a sideways glance and grinned. "Hmm…I see. That _is_ a problem."

Buffy laughed. "Angel, I'm serious. I mean, as much as I love wearing this dress, sleeping in it's not an option."

"Don't worry. You can wear something of mine. I'm sure I have some shirts that'll fit you."

"Okay. So…what's at your place? What kind of surprise do you have planned for me?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

Buffy smiled. "No, I suppose not." She continued to stare at him as he turned on Crawford Street. "How I told you how hot I think you look wearing that tuxedo?"

* * *

"You moved your bedroom upstairs," Buffy said as she followed Angel into his room.

"Yeah. This place has so many rooms. I figured I'd try something new. Plus, this room's bigger and with Wesley and Cordelia staying here too, a little more private."

Buffy smiled in approval. "I like it."

She suddenly felt nervous, and for no apparent reason. As she watched Angel take off his tux jacket, she remembered her clothing predicament. "Um…so you said I could borrow something to wear?"

"Look in that top drawer." Angel pointed to his dresser.

Buffy opened the drawer, delighting in the fact that his clothes smelled like fresh laundry, and went about selecting a shirt to wear. Most of Angel's shirts were dark in color, but a white shirt amidst the black caught her attention.

"Tell you what…why don't you go to the bathroom and change? And I left some things in there for you in case you wanted to freshen up. Then when you come out, I'll have your second surprise for the evening ready. Just take your time if you would. I need a few minutes to set things up."

Buffy turned around, smiling at him. "Set things up? What are you—"

"You'll see."

Buffy realized she wasn't going to get any more out of him and decided not to press the issue. "I'm really loving all of these surprises you have planned." Buffy tucked the shirt under her arm and headed to the adjoining bathroom.

The bathroom was immaculate. The lighting, however, wasn't spectacular, but it was enough to illuminate the little room in a dim, yellow light.

On the wall above the sink, Buffy delighted in the fact that there was a mirror, _an actual mirror_, albeit a slightly cracked one. So this place _did_ have mirrors after all. She'd never explored much past the first floor. Had she known this before, she would have insisted Angel move his bedroom upstairs much earlier.

On the counter was a basket, and inside was almost every toiletry item she could possibly need. She couldn't believe Angel had thought of all this, then remembered he had help. Maybe this was Willow's doing.

She first kicked off her shoes, sighing in relief when her toes could finally relax. The high heels made her feet hurt, but it was a price to pay for fashion. Had she known she'd be dancing all night, she would have at least slipped a gel insole inside them.

Reaching behind her back, Buffy carefully unzipped her dress. This task was much easier when she had a person to assist her, but she managed. She slipped the dress off and hung it carefully on the hook behind the door. She then shucked off her strapless bra, which was digging into her skin at this point and most uncomfortable, and placed it on the hook with the gown.

She couldn't help but bring Angel's shirt to her nose to smell that wonderful scent of it again before she slipped it on. It was a large shirt, but Angel was right: it fit her perfect, for a nightshirt anyway. Buffy decided she liked wearing Angel's shirt. It was a very girlfriend thing to do, to wear her boyfriend's clothes, wasn't it?

Eyeing the counter, Buffy realized that brushing her teeth right now would be a good idea. It was inevitable they'd probably be kissing at some point. She then killed a few more minutes, swiping on some deodorant, not that she needed it. She used the bathroom. She rubbed some Vaseline on her lips. She put on some lotion. She debated whether or not she should wash her face or leave her makeup on. She eventually decided on the former. She wasn't that vain: Angel had seen her without makeup before.

After spending a few more minutes freshening up, she wondered if Angel was done with whatever he was doing. She went to the door and knocked on it. "Hey, can I come out now?"

"No, don't come out yet."

"What are you doing out there?"

Angel didn't reply.

Buffy sighed, then stared at her reflection for a moment, realizing she had to do something to her hair. She reached behind her head, taking out the barrette that held the sides of her hair back. Buffy ran her hands through her hair, then picked up the hairbrush in the basket.

Finally after a few more minutes had passed, Angel called out to her.

"You can come out now."

Buffy opened the door, smiling as Angel stood before her. She could see he had already made himself more comfortable as well, wearing the black sweatpants he wore often and a black sleeveless shirt.

"I knew you'd pick the white one."

Buffy gazed down at the long shirt she wore, slightly self-conscious until Angel smiled at her. "I'm almost surprised you own a white shirt. I know that black is your favorite—oh, wow, what is all this?" The sight of candles around his bedroom made Buffy completely lose her train of thought.

Angel gave her another smile. "I just thought I'd make this night special for us."

Buffy moved closer to him. "You already have."

"Wine?" Angel asked, handing her the glass before she could answer.

"You know, technically, I'm underage. I probably shouldn't be allowed to drink this."

"I think you can handle it."

Buffy took a careful sip of the wine, swirling it around her mouth for a moment.

"Do you like it?"

Buffy nodded. "I love it. Much better than the spiked punch by the way."

He took Buffy's hand and led her across the room. "Come here. I have something for you."

"Wow, had I known you'd be showering me with gifts tonight, I'd have brought something for you too."

Buffy set her glass of wine down and sat on the bed. She watched as Angel opened his nightstand drawer and took out something.

"It's not exactly a gift. More like something that already belonged to you."

In his hand, he held a small object, but Buffy couldn't make out what it was until he held it in front of her.

_Her Claddagh ring._

She couldn't believe it. Out of all the things Angel could have pulled out of that drawer, she hadn't been expecting that. "Oh, Angel." Buffy took the ring from him. "This is my ring. Where did you—"

"I found it here a while back," Angel explained. "I don't know where it had been, but it just turned up. I've been holding on to it since then, waiting for the right moment to give it back to you."

Buffy wasted no time putting the ring on her finger. "I left it here. It was too painful to wear at the time. But now I'm happy to see it again." She smiled, holding out her hand. "It's beautiful, just as I remembered."

Angel sat down beside her on the bed. "Do you remember what it means?"

"Yes. The hands represent friendship. The crown represents loyalty. The heart represents love. And when I wear it like this, it means I belong to someone."

"Forever," Angel added.

"Forever," she repeated. "I'll never take this ring off again." Buffy admired the ring again, then turned to Angel, frowning slightly. "Are you upset I took it off before?"

"No, of course not. I understand if it was too painful for you to wear. That was a…bad time for us all."

"Shh." Buffy placed a finger on his lips. "Let's not talk about that. Only happy memories tonight."

Angel grinned. "That was my intention. In fact, we should start that."

"Start…what?"

"Making new memories." He leaned forward, placing a light kiss on her lips. "Let's make a toast."

Angel handed Buffy her wine glass back and took his own.

"What are we toasting to?" Buffy asked, grinning.

"To us. And may tonight be just the beginning of more pleasant memories to come."

"I'll drink to that."

They clinked their glasses together and each took a sip of their wine.

"How did you know this was just what I needed?"

"I want you to be happy. I know I've made some mistakes in the past, but I'd like the chance to right some of those wrongs. I should have never broke up with you before your prom. I should have never broke up with you period, but that was really bad timing on my part. I'm really sorry about that."

"It's okay, Angel."

"No, it's not okay. I love you, and even if we can't be together in the ways that most couples can be, I want you know I've always loved you. Actually, you're the only person I've ever been in love with."

"Me too."

He placed a hand on her cheek, leaning forward until their lips met again.

"Take this," she whispered, handing Angel her wine glass.

He placed it back on the nightstand for her along with his own. Buffy, hands finally free, wrapped her arms around Angel's neck and resumed their kiss.

Angel shifted position, gathering Buffy into his arms and gently laying her down on the bed.

Buffy grinned. "This is the best surprise ever. Making out in your bed."

He smiled back at her, easing himself over her as he pressed his lips to hers again.

But just as soon as they'd started up again, Angel suddenly pulled back.

"What's the matter?"

Angel frowned. "I forgot something."

Buffy gave him a smile. "I can't imagine anything making this night more better than it already is."

"I'll be right back." Angel gave her a quick kiss and hopped up from the bed. "Stay here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Buffy watched as Angel left the room, then stretched out on the bed, resting her head on the pillows. She brought her hand up and admired the ring on her finger again. A part of her had always missed this ring ever since she left it here. She had looked for it once before, but when she couldn't find it, assumed it was lost to her forever. It was funny how things worked out. She hadn't found the ring, but it had certainly found her.

A few minutes later, Angel returned. Buffy sat up in bed, her mouth suddenly watering and her stomach grumbling at the sight of what he held. "You have strawberries!"

Angel smiled. "And whip cream too. You like that, right?"

Buffy nodded eagerly. "I _love_ whip cream! _Especially_ on strawberries."

Angel joined her on the bed and placed the bowl of strawberries and whip cream between them. They were ripe, juicy berries. Angel picked up one especially bright red berry and dipped it into the whip cream. He brought it up to Buffy's mouth, and she took a bite.

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the taste of the strawberry. It was sweet, not too tart, and possibly the best strawberry she had ever tasted.

"Good?" Angel asked.

Buffy nodded. "Mmm-hmm. It's like…heaven. Where did you get these? The grocery store never has strawberries this good!"

"I'm not sure where exactly they came from. Tara picked them up for me. I think they're probably from a local farm."

Buffy grabbed another berry from the bowl and dipped it in the cream, feeding herself this time.

A few minutes, and a few sips of wine later, an empty bowl sat between them. Buffy licked the strawberry juice from her fingers, and Angel longed to kiss the tiny speck of whip cream on her bottom lip.

"You have something right there," he said, pointing to his own lips.

Buffy dabbed a fingertip to the corner of her mouth. "Did I get it?"

Angel shook his head. "No. Let me." He kissed the whip cream on her lip, wishing he could taste the sweetness of it. He pulled away, giving her a smile. "I got it."

"You sure know how to treat a girl to a romantic night. Candlelight, wine, strawberries, whip cream. We could have some serious fun with that if you had a can of it. Might be a little sticky though."

Angel laughed. "What if we had chocolate sauce?"

"Ooo! I like that idea even better! All drizzling with chocolatey goodness. Or…we could have _both."_

"With strawberries?"

"With lots of strawberries! Oh, I'm getting hungry again!"

"I'm sorry I didn't realize how hungry you were," Angel apologized, placing the empty bowl on the nightstand. "I guess you didn't eat much tonight."

She shrugged. "I wasn't really hungry earlier anyway. I was too busy having fun." Buffy took another sip of her wine, downing the last of it. "More wine, please!" Buffy held her empty glass forward, and she watched as Angel refilled it. "I like this wine. It's very…bubbly."

"No more for you after this. You're a lightweight."

"I think I do feel a little tipsy already. That's another word for 'happy', right?" Buffy giggled.

Angel frowned. "On second thought, I think maybe you've had enough." Angel took the glass of wine from her and set it on the nightstand. "The whole point of this night was for you to remember, not drink alcohol and forget again."

Buffy laughed softly. "Good point."

Angel smiled at her, and for a moment, simply stared at her.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"You're so beautiful."

"Say that again."

"You're so beautiful."

"I never get tired of hearing that."

"I have one more thing planned for tonight."

"Something else? Not that I'm complaining, but what's with all the surprises?"

"I need a reason to give the woman I love a romantic evening?"

Buffy smiled at him. "No, of course not. It's just really sweet of you. So what else do you have planned?"

Angel moved closer to her, placing a hand on the side of her face as he pressed his lips to hers. "Does that answer your question?"

Buffy nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'll never forget, Angel."

He paused for a moment, her voice echoing those words in his mind. "What?"

"I'll never forget this night. It's perfect."

"No, it's not perfect. It can't be."

Buffy's smiled faded. "I know."

"But that doesn't mean this night can't still be wonderful."

Buffy's smile returned. "So what'd you have in mind again?"

He kissed her eagerly, and Buffy responded will equal fervor, shifting her body closer until she had maneuvered herself into his lap. She felt his hand brush against her thigh, then run down her leg, and secretly felt grateful she had shaved earlier.

His hand returned to her thigh, then her hip, and finally, slipped underneath her shirt.

She thought of her strapless bra, the one she was definitely not wearing, hanging on the hook in the bathroom.

He used both hands now, inching further and further up…

Buffy sighed, feeling the coolness of his skin caress the warmness of hers. She marveled at the way his cool skin would quickly take on the heat of her body. Touching her like this wasn't taking it too far, was it? He could kiss her all day and not lose his soul. Surely just _touching_ her with his hands wasn't bad.

As his hands continued to explore what lied beneath her clothing, his mouth began to roam, kissing her lips, kissing her face, kissing her neck. Buffy sighed again as his lips brushed the edge of the scar on her neck. _His scar._

As long as they kept their clothes on, they would be fine, Buffy thought.

At that moment, Angel reached for the edge of the shirt and lifted it up. Buffy mindlessly raised her arms, letting him take it off.

He stared at her for a moment before placing kisses everywhere his hands had been moments before.

Buffy wrapped her hands around him, sighing contentedly. So she wasn't wearing a shirt, but he was only still kissing her. They weren't making love. Angel wouldn't let it get that far…

His hands moved down her body again, and his thumbs reached under the hem of her panties.

"Lay down," he whispered.

She did as he asked, and without a word, lifted her hips so Angel could remove the rest of her clothing. She watched her panties slide down her legs. Angel tossed them on floor beside the shirt.

She felt her cheeks warm with a slight blush until she reminded herself that Angel had seen her naked before.

And hadn't they done way more than heavy petting in her dreams?

"Angel? What are we doing?" she asked, but the question fell on deaf ears as Angel kissed her mouth, silencing her. She closed her eyes, feeling Angel's mouth move further down her body, then up again, capturing her lips over and over.

He was just kissing her. She wasn't wearing any clothes, but Angel had seen her this way before. He could see her like this anytime if he simply closed his eyes and thought of her. But they weren't making love. He was just kissing her. And it was okay to kiss like this.

Wasn't it?

Buffy's eyes snapped open, as if a sudden realization had hit her.

_What was she thinking? What were they doing?_

It wouldn't take much to take it just a little further…

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Buffy could recall a lecture from one of her teachers about alcohol, and how judgment was the first part of the brain it affected. Maybe they'd both had a little too much…

Buffy turned her head and reluctantly pushed him away. "Angel, stop for a second."

He stopped his advances and stared at her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's just…we can't. Your curse…"

The corner of Angel's mouth lifted. "My curse says nothing about you. It says _I_ can't have a moment of perfect happiness. But you…you can have as much pleasure as you can stand."

Buffy blushed again, realizing what Angel was implying. "But what if it makes you…"

"It won't. I want to make love to you, Buffy. I want to make love to you properly. But that's not something we can do."

"So you'll be…okay?"

He laughed softly. "I'll be just fine."

"Really?"

Angel nodded, inching his mouth close to hers. "Really," he whispered before kissing her again.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm telling you now so you'll know…that's as smutty as that scene's going to get, lol. Please don't be disappointed when the next chapter picks up the morning after. Sorry if you were hoping to read something a little more explicit, but I never wanted this story to be above a "T" rating. Besides, I'm sure your imagination can come up with something way better than I could write. ;)

That being said, I feel the need to explain _why_ I'd have such a scene. No, not just for the smutty factor, although that's fun too. But the truth of the matter is this: Angel wanted to show Buffy how much he loved her in ways he actually could. Making love is out of the question for the two, due to the fact that Angel becomes a homicidal maniac, so he has to express his love in other ways. Also, with that last scene, it's totally one-sided, so there's really little risk in him losing his soul.

Speaking of Angel's soul…like the way I snuck in Willow's secret, that she _had_ tried to find a cure for Angel? :) It always bothered me that the show never tried to have them figure this out, and I know it bothered a lot of you as well. If Willow is so powerful, surely, _surely_ they could have found _some way_ to cure Angel's "problem." Sigh. Problem fixed. Well, almost. Now, Willow has a reason to continue that search for a cure! With Tara and Anya's help, hmm…has a good possibility of happening. We shall see…

Oh, oh, the prom! Can't forget to talk about that! I hope you all don't think that idea was all hokey and whatnot, but I really wanted Buffy to have a good prom memory. Oh sure, she got the class protector award and Angel showed up even though he broke up with her, but the prom wasn't as great as Buffy had imagined it to be. And besides, Angel really did need to make it up to her. And since Buffy can't even remember her prom, this replaces her forgotten memory with a much more nicer one. :)

The ring: Oh yes, the ring. Angel finally gave it to her! (And no, I didn't forget it!) Do you see why I wanted to wait until now for Angel to give it to her? I didn't want to take away from that scene just to put it earlier in the story. Also, it seemed like giving the ring to her would be such an intimate moment for them, and I wanted to wait until Buffy and Angel were in a much closer place in their relationship before Angel gave it back to her.

Okay…that's the end of my really long author's notes, but it was a very long chapter, so there was a lot to talk about! Hope you all enjoyed it!


	41. A Morning After

Buffy couldn't remember falling asleep. She remembered Angel, and she remembered him making her feeling really good. How she fell asleep in the middle of _that _was beyond her. But clearly she must have, for it was morning already. She could hear the birds outside making their morning chatter.

"Good morning."

Buffy smiled at the sound of his smooth, deep voice, and stared at the man beside her. "Good morning."

Angel leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

"Did that really happen last night, or was it a dream?" she asked.

"It really happened."

"So this is what it feels like then."

"What?"

"To have…you know, a morning after?"

Angel grinned. "I take it you enjoyed last night?"

A smile played on her lips as she nuzzled closer to him, sighing contentedly. "Last night was incredible." She looked up at him, then frowned slightly. "Except for one thing."

"What's that?" Angel asked hesitantly.

"I feel guilty. It was all about me last night. And don't get me wrong…I love when it's all about me. But you didn't get to experience any of that. You must feel so frustrated that it had to be one-sided."

"Don't feel guilty. And don't worry about me being frustrated. I've long since been aware of the limitations of my curse. I want you to feel happy enough for the both of us."

"So does that mean we're going to do that again sometime?"

"Oh you want us to do that again, huh?" Angel laughed.

"What do you think?" Buffy laughed with him.

Angel moved his hand to her face, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "We will. Although…it'd probably be a good idea not to do that every night."

Buffy nodded. "I know. Wouldn't want to…"

"Risk anything…"

"Getting out of hand," Buffy finished.

"Exactly. Are you hungry? Do you want some breakfast?"

"I wouldn't mind some coffee."

Angel leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "Coming right up." Angel tossed the sheet aside and got out of bed. He then grabbed his shirt from the floor and began to put it on.

Buffy smiled, remembering how she practically had to beg him to take it off last night, as he was reluctant to take off any of _his_ clothes.

"_Oh come on, it's not like I haven't seen you without a shirt. You can keep your pants on!"_

He gave her a smile before going out the door. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be right here," she said, smiling back at him.

* * *

Cordelia hated the mansion.

It was drafty, there were bugs everywhere, the lighting was terrible. She had to lean close to the mirror when putting on her makeup just to see what she was doing.

Cordelia often wondered why she put up with staying here. She'd much rather have preferred a nice hotel with a comfy bed and room service.

And yet, she stayed here. She could have stayed with her parents, but wasn't the whole point of life after high school the fact that you _didn't_ have to live with your parents anymore? Only Xander Harris seemed to have not gotten that memo.

She missed her apartment too, and she wondered how Dennis was doing. She'd told him she'd be gone for a while.

She just hadn't realized she'd be gone for _this long_.

It was okay though, for something had changed within her the last few months, and no one was more surprised of it than herself.

She thought about her episode at the hospital, trapped in a catatonic state with the relentless visions in her mind. There was so much pain in the world, and somehow, she was chosen to play a role in stopping some of that pain. She had renounced this role at first, not wanting any part of it, and sometimes cursing Doyle's memory for giving it to her. But now, she embraced it.

It'd just be nice if the visions weren't accompanied by those debilitating migraines.

Just then, the light bulb above the mirror flickered out, and Cordelia groaned. Just another thing to hate about this place.

The lighting was bad enough. Now she couldn't see a damn thing.

* * *

Buffy stared at her Claddagh ring, a smile on her face as her thoughts wandered again to last night.

The prom had been surprise enough. Everything else had simply been icing on the cake.

The doorknob being to turn, and Buffy moved to sit up. "Well that was…"

"Hey, Angel? The light in the—"

"…quick—_Cordelia_!"

"Oh my god!"

Buffy grabbed the sheet, holding it a little tighter around her.

"Are you naked under there? Please tell me you're not naked!"

Buffy looked away from Cordelia's menacing glare.

"Oh my god! This is exactly what I was afraid was going to happen! You did it, didn't you? You and Angel had sex!"

"Relax, Cordelia! It's not what you think. We didn't…we didn't do _that_. Not really, anyway. I mean, we did stuff. Well, actually, _he_ did stuff. To me, I mean. He wouldn't let me do anything to him. It's sort of like our version of safe sex. And it was his idea to—"

"Please don't elaborate any further!" Cordelia begged, putting a finger in each ear. "Where's Angel? Is he okay or is he a homicidal maniac?"

"He's fine. He's downstairs getting coffee for me."

"You're _sure_ he's okay?"

"He's fine, I promise! If he was going to turn evil, it would have happened already."

"Okay, good. So now I don't have to kill him, even though I'm considering it." Cordelia turned to leave.

"Wait! Cordelia?"

Cordelia paused and turned around. "Yeah?"

Buffy grinned sheepishly. "You wouldn't by chance have some clothes I could borrow, would you?"

* * *

Cordelia found Angel right where Buffy said he would be. At the moment, he stood before the counter and filled two cups with coffee.

Angel turned his head for a moment, seeing her standing in the doorway. "Hey, Cordy."

Wesley looked up from the paper on the table. "Good morning, Cordelia."

"Morning," Cordelia said, although no one seemed to notice the hint of annoyance in her tone. She walked over to Angel, waiting for him to place the coffee pot back in its place. Once he did, she promptly smacked him on the back of head.

"Oww!" Angel instinctively rubbed the back of his head and turned to face Cordelia. "What the hell was that for?"

"I know what you did, Angel! And I don't like it!"

"Okay, fine. You caught me. I got the last of the coffee." He grinned at her. "But I was going to make some more."

Cordelia continued to glare at him, her arms crossed.

"Okay, I lied. I wasn't going to make more. I was sort of hoping everyone had had their fill. But I can get another pot started."

"I'm not upset about the coffee."

"Oh. Okay. Then…what are you upset about it?"

"Let's see…how about the fact that Buffy is upstairs in your bed right now, and she's _naked_!"

Wesley coughed, nearly choking on his tea.

"Thank you for making a very private moment very public, Cordelia."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Relax! We didn't have sex!"

"Oh you had _some_ kind of sex!"

"Cordelia, would you calm down already? Buffy and I didn't make love. We just…you know what? I don't have to tell you. What happened between Buffy and I last night is between us."

"Oh, trust me, I don't want the details!"

"But you don't have to worry. We were well aware of what we were doing and we wouldn't do anything to risk….you know."

Cordelia raised her eyebrows. "And you didn't think _that_ was risky?"

"Look, everything's fine! I'm not evil! I thought you were okay with Buffy and I back together!"

"I'm _okay_ with you back together. I'm _not_ _okay_ with you getting groiny with each other!"

"We didn't have sex!" Angel grabbed the cups of coffee from the counter. "You know, I don't have to explain myself to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, Buffy's coffee is getting cold."

Angel left the room, and Cordelia looked at Wesley, who has listened to their whole conversation without saying a word. "See? I told you kissing and holding hands wasn't going to be enough for them."

* * *

When Angel returned to the bedroom, he found Buffy sitting up in bed waiting for him. In the short time he'd been downstairs, she'd put on his shirt again, and if possible, looked even more beautiful than she had moments ago.

Angel joined her on the bed and handed one of the mugs to her. "Your coffee."

"Thank you." Buffy took a careful sip of it, then smiled in approval. "It's good."

"And warm," Angel added, having just took a sip of his own.

"I like this."

"Like what?"

"Spending the morning with you at your place, in your room. Drinking coffee in bed. I like doing couplely things like that. Did Cordelia find you?"

"Yeah. I was only gone for a few minutes. What happened?"

"She sort of barged in here wanting to tell you something, but she found me instead. She wigged out a little."

"I'm sorry about Cordelia."

"It's okay. She's not half as bad as Xander. And besides, I don't care what Cordelia or anyone else has to say. What we do is our own business and if they don't like, well that's just too bad. I have to say though…I thought Xander was on his best behavior last night."

"Yeah, I thought so too. He didn't even call me 'Dead Boy' once."

Buffy laughed.

Angel took another sip of his coffee and placed the mug on the nightstand. "Have you remembered anything else lately?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, not really. Sometimes I get…impressions of things, but not really memories. It's kind of hard to describe. It's like…my memory is this giant puzzle, only one with a lot of missing pieces. And I know what the pieces should look like, but I just can't seem to find them in the box."

"I was hoping last night might help you."

"Oh, it did, Angel. It helped my mood more than you know. But I'm not upset I can't remember. Like I said before, if I never remember, I'll be happy. In fact, in some ways, as strange as this might sound, I'm sort of glad my accident happened."

"How so?"

Buffy gave him a smile. "Because it brought you back to me. Maybe it took me almost dying for us to realize that what time we do have is very precious."

Angel was silent for a moment, a shadow appearing over his face.

Buffy's smiled faded. "What's wrong?"

"I'm glad you can see a silver lining in all this, but when I think of that night…Sometimes I get this image of you in my mind. I keep seeing you lying in that cemetery, bleeding to death on the ground. And every time I think of that night, I can't help but think of how close I came to losing you. When I first saw you, for a moment I thought…"

"You thought I was dead," Buffy finished for him.

"If making love to you is perfect happiness, then at that moment, what I felt was perfect despair."

Buffy placed her coffee aside on the table and curled up next to him. "I'm okay now, Angel. You saved me."

"I don't know how I would have gone on if I'd lost you."

"I know what that feels like, that moment of perfect despair? I felt that way when I had to kill you."

Angel held Buffy a little tighter, running his hand through her hair.

"I felt numb inside, empty. I just wanted to run away and hide from the world, and I did for a while. I never thought I'd feel happy again."

Angel gave her forehead a kiss. "I'm okay now, too."

Buffy looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah, you are." She rested her head back against his neck, running her hand along his chest. "It seems like all we ever do sometimes are fight obstacles that try to keep us apart."

"Well some things are worth fighting for," Angel said with a smile.

* * *

"I'm glad Cordelia let me borrow some of her clothes. Makes this feel a little less like a walk of shame."

Angel stopped at the door and frowned. "'Walk of shame'?"

"You know…girl spends the night with a guy. Relations are obviously had. Then the next morning, she's creeping around the frat house wearing the party dress from the night before, hoping not to run into anyone."

"You don't have anything to be ashamed about."

Buffy laughed. "No, I don't feel ashamed! It's just an expression. I don't regret last night at all."

The smile returned to Angel's face. "Okay, that makes me feel better."

"Last night was wonderful." Buffy tilted her head up and leaned forward to kiss him. "I gotta go. I'll pick up my dress later. I have to run it to the dry cleaners and I'm not sure they're open yet."

"You can leave it here, that's fine."

"I'll see you later?"

Angel nodded, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"I love you."

Angel smiled. "I love you, too."

Buffy reluctantly pulled away, opening the door just a crack, and Angel moved behind it as the sunlight from outside poured in.

Angel closed the door behind her, and realized he missed her already.

* * *

"Angel?"

"Come in."

Cordelia walked into the room, keeping a hand over her eyes. "Is everyone decent?"

"Buffy left already."

"Oh." Cordelia uncovered her eyes, seeing Angel standing before Buffy's prom dress hanging behind the bathroom door. "I thought she was still here."

"No, she just left. Are you here to give me another lecture?"

"No, I'm not. I came to apologize. I might have…overreacted earlier."

Angel rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I think I've got a knot back here."

"Oh please! I didn't hit you that hard."

"Actually, you kind of did."

Cordelia smiled. "You felt pain through that thick-headed skull of yours? Hardly. Look, I really am sorry I overreacted."

Angel laughed softly. "It's okay."

"It's just…you're my friend, Angel. I know we've known each other for a long time, but I feel like these past few months, I've gotten to know you a whole lot better. I don't want to see anything happen to you. And I don't want to lose you to Angelus."

"You don't have to worry about that. I don't want that to happen either."

"I still think what you did was a little risky."

"I know what I'm doing, Cordelia, trust me. If there was a slight chance I'd be perfectly happy over something, I'd stop myself."

"So I don't have to worry about you losing your soul around Buffy?"

He smiled. "You don't have to worry."

"Good."

"In case I forgot to mention it, thanks for your help last night. It really meant a lot to Buffy."

"I have to admit…I thought the idea of recreating prom night for Buffy was a little corny at first, but I had fun too. I'm glad I could help."

"Well…I owe you one."

"Oh, and I know exactly how you can pay me back."

"What's that?"

"You need to do something about the lighting around here. Just because you can see in the dark doesn't mean the rest of us can."

"What's wrong with the lighting?"

"Seriously? Look, I know you grew up in the eighteenth century and all, but surely you've heard of this great invention. It's called the light bulb?"

* * *

_Meow!_

"Okay, okay, just hold on!" Willow struggled with the can of cat food as Miss Kitty Fantastico rubbed against her legs impatiently. She glanced at Tara across the room. "She can't wait two seconds for me to open this."

Tara frowned. "Oh no, Willow, don't give her that. You'll spoil her."

"Too late." Willow had just emptied the contents of the can, and Miss Kitty attacked her bowl hungrily.

Tara smiled. "Well when she refuses the dry food and you're forced to buy that expensive canned stuff, don't blame me."

"Well the canned food is better for her anyway. I read that somewhere."

The back door opened, and Buffy walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Buffy," Tara said.

"Hi!"

"Ooo, look at you all glowy and happy!" Willow teased.

"That might be a little of an understatement."

"I take it your prom night was all you hoped it would be?" Tara asked.

"It was all that and more." Buffy gazed off in the distance, smiling as she remembered the events from last night. "Oh, by the way, Tara, the strawberries were a nice touch."

"He asked for romantic food ideas, and what's more romantic than fruit? Oh, and speaking of, I have more!" Tara pushed a bowl of strawberries toward her, and Buffy helped herself to one.

"So what exactly did Angel have planned for after?" Willow asked, also helping herself to a strawberry.

"Yeah, he was being so secretive about it. He wouldn't tell us anything."

"Well, he took me to the mansion, and he had this whole romantic evening set up."

"Details!" Willow begged.

"Oh, you know, candles, wine, kissing, a little testing the limits of his curse."

"Testing the limits of his curse?" Willow asked.

Buffy smiled. "No sex, don't worry. Turns out we can do stuff as long as it's one-sided."

Willow smiled knowingly. "Ahh, I see."

"I think I'll go upstairs now and write in my diary. Last night was _definitely _a night I want to remember. Oh, and before I forget, thanks for all your help with my surprise. Both of you. I loved it."

"You're welcome, Buffy," Willow said.

Buffy gave them a smile, then left the room.

"Wow, if she's this happy now…" Tara said.

"She'll be ecstatic later," Willow finished. "Come on, let's get dressed and go see Anya. I wonder if she's called her friend yet."

* * *

A/N: This chapter doesn't advance the plot that much, but mostly, wraps up everything that happened in the last chapter. And plus, it's happy B/A stuff, which is always good! Cordelia is so fun to write, I think one of my favorite characters to write actually. I hope you can envision her in your mind as well as I can.

Thanks for reading….until 42!


	42. Some Kind Of Superhero

A/N: Hey, everyone! I'm sorry it took a little while longer for me to update this time around. I try to update at least weekly, but with the holidays, it got kind of busy for me. Plus I had a little writer's block, and my muse was no help at all. Anyway, thanks for reading, as always!

xoxo

"For the last time, Willow, no. I haven't called her again!" Anya walked behind the counter to ring up a customer.

Willow followed her. "Why not? It's been _three days_! And you said she's in Encino. It's not like it's that far away. You do still keep in touch with her, right?"

Anya ignored Willow's questions, focusing on the task at hand. "That'll be ten dollars even," she told the customer as she put his purchases in a bag. The man slid a ten dollar bill across the counter, and Anya took the cash and exchanged it for the bag. "Thanks for shopping at the Magic Box. We value your patronage!"

"Anya."

"Willow, if you ask me one more time! Look, Adriana's a busy woman. She'll call me when she gets my message."

The phone rang, and Anya went to answer it. "See? That may be her right now." Anya picked up the phone. "Magic Box, this is Anya speaking…Yes, we sale those…Rat's eyes? No, we don't have that in stock anymore, but we can place an order for just about anything. What do you want to use that for anyway?"

Willow sighed, disappointed.

* * *

Willow walked down the stairs and stopped, seeing Buffy sitting on Angel's lap and the two oblivious to everything except each other.

This had become a regular sight, and Willow cleared her throat to get their attention.

Buffy stopped in mid-kiss, grinning sheepishly. "Oh, hey, Will. How long have you been standing there?"

Willow grinned. "Long enough to know that if I arrived two seconds later, you might have been a little more embarrassed."

Angel discreetly removed his hand from under Buffy's shirt.

"So are we going to patrol?" Willow asked, pointing to her watch.

"Oh yeah, I guess we should kill some vamps." Buffy rose to her feet and grabbed her stake from the coffee table.

Willow picked up her bag and headed out the door.

Buffy turned around, smiling at Angel. "You know, if you spend the night, we could pick up where we left off."

Angel gave her a smile, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"You guys coming?" Willow called out from the porch after a few seconds had passed.

Angel pulled away. "We really should…"

"Patrol, I know." Buffy frowned and reluctantly headed out the door, but her smile returned when Angel took her hand.

* * *

"I hate to break this to you when you're trying to be all macho vamp, but my grandmother could have hit better than that!" Buffy hopped off the ground, dusted herself off, then charged toward the vampire, stake in hand.

"God I love this part," Angel mused, watching as she pummeled the vampire to the ground.

"I love how she comes up with the witty puns on the spot," Willow said, munching on some popcorn. "Want some?" she offered to Angel.

Angel reached over and took a handful out of the box, keeping his eyes on Buffy the whole time.

Buffy, seeing her opportunity, plunged the stake into his chest, then watched as the vampire turned to dust. "And another bites the dust!"

"You showed him," Angel said, grinning.

Buffy smiled at him triumphantly, then sauntered over to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "How many was that tonight?"

"Seven."

"Ooo, lucky seven! Look at me on a roll! Kiss."

Angel obliged, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

"Okay, I'll just try to make myself discreet now," Willow said.

Buffy pulled away from the lip-lock and looked to Willow. "Sorry, Will."

"So, where do you want to patrol next?" Angel asked.

"I say let's do a quick sweep around the Bronze and then call it a night."

"Sounds like a good plan to—" The sound of Angel's phone ringing interrupted his reply. "Hold on a second." Angel dug into his pocket and grabbed it. "This is Angel."

"Angel! Good, I'm glad you answered!" said Wesley's panicked voice on the other end.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Cordelia! She had another vision!"

"Put Cordelia on the phone."

Buffy gave Angel a questioning look. "What happened?"

"Cordelia had a vision."

Cordelia's voice came on the line. "Angel?"

"Cordy, what'd you see?"

"I saw some kids. A boy and girl, and they're in trouble! These snarly looking demons have them tied up to a tree! I-I think they plan to kill them."

"Where?"

"At some campground…Miller's Woods maybe? And it's near a lake."

"Don't worry, we'll take of it. You and Wesley find out what kind of demon this is, and call me back as soon as you know something."

"Okay. And, Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Hurry! I don't think those kids have a lot of time."

"On our way now." Angel ended the conversation and turned to leave the cemetery.

Buffy and Willow fell in line, following him.

"What's going on?" Willow asked.

"We've got demon trouble. They've got two kids. She thinks it's at a campground near Miller's Woods. Is there a lake there?"

Willow nodded. "There's a campground there, and there's definitely a lake."

"Then that's where they are. Let's take my car. It'll be faster."

* * *

"The turn should be up there," Buffy said, pointing to the sign they were coming up on.

"Hold on," Angel warned as he made a sharp turn.

Willow held on to the back of the seat. "Oh I'm glad there're seat belts back here."

Angel's cell phone rang again, and Angel was quick to answer. "Wes, any news?"

"How did you know it would be me?" Wesley asked.

"Just tell me what you found!"

"Right. It's a Molgara demon. Four of them actually."

"Molgara? What kind of demons are they?"

"They…flesh of their victims. They're similar to a…but without…prey."

"Wes, you're breaking up! Say that again?"

"I said they eat the flesh…victims. Similar to a Gnarl demon but without the ability to paralyze…They are, however, experts on trapping them."

"You say victims, and I assume you mean humans."

"Unfortunately."

"How do we kill them?"

"…"

"Wes?"

"They have—"

"Wes? Wesley?" Angel glanced at his phone, realizing the call had been dropped. "Damn it! I hate these things!"

"Cell reception isn't the best out here," Willow said.

"What did he say?"

Angel glanced at Buffy. "He says it's a Molgara demon. They're a flesh-eating demon."

"Oh lovely."

"Hey guys, the campground is coming up." Willow pointed up ahead.

Angel turned into the campground's parking lot. "How close is the lake from here?"

"It shouldn't be too far," Willow said. "We can walk from here."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

They'd been walking for ten minutes, and so far, no sign of trouble.

"Are we sure this is the right campground?" Buffy asked.

"It's the only campground by a lake," Willow said. "And it's in the woods. It has to be it."

"Too many humans around." Angel deduced, pointing to a few nearby RVs. "We should check out the other side of the lake. It looks a little more secluded."

Up ahead, the lake was surrounded by a heavily wooded area. The trio made their way to the other side, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"Over there," Buffy pointed.

Over by a large tree, a small object lay on the ground. They couldn't tell what it was until they got a little closer.

Angel kneeled to the ground, picking up the stuffed bear. "This must have belonged to one of the kids. We should be getting closer."

Angel examined the ground, another object catching his eye. Something didn't feel right, but what, he wasn't sure. "Uh-oh," he suddenly said.

Buffy gave Angel a worried look. "Why 'uh-oh'?"

Before Angel could answer, something snapped, and three nets had swooped up from below, lifting and dangling all three of them in the air.

Angel turned to Buffy. "That's why 'uh-oh'. This is a trap."

"At least it's not a booby trap," Willow said in an attempt to look at the bright side. "We could all be dead right now."

Angel gazed up, looking at the tightly knotted ropes. "This is the Molgara's trap, and we walked right into it."

"How do you know that?" Buffy asked.

"Wes said they're experts on setting traps."

Buffy clenched the sides of the rope, trying with all her might to pry the net apart. But unfortunately, it was just too strong, even for her.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?" he answered, strained, apparently tugging on his rope as well.

"Please tell me you've got your big axe hidden somewhere on you."

"The one time I didn't bring it…"

"Angel, your phone!" Willow said. "Call Wesley!"

"Good thinking." Angel reached into his pocket and fished out his phone, but once he had a hold of it, he made no effort to dial.

"What's the matter?" Buffy asked.

"It says 'no signal'. What does that mean?"

"It means you can't dial out. So much for that idea."

"I'm guessing you don't have your phone with you, do you?"

Buffy shook her head. "Forgot it." Buffy looked to her left. "Will? Any spells you might come up with to help us out would be much appreciated."

"I'm trying! Just let me think for a moment." Willow had giving up on tugging on the net. If Buffy and Angel couldn't free themselves, she didn't stand a chance.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

Angel nodded his head towards her. "The stake in your pocket. It's sharp. Try that."

"Okay. Good idea." Buffy grabbed the stake and held it at the edge of the rope. Using the stake as a makeshift knife, she attempted to saw through her net.

After a minute or so, she was making a little progress. "I think it's working!" No sooner had she spoken the words, her footing in the net slipped, and Buffy dropped the stake. She watched it fall through the net, ricocheting off the tree trunk before it finally came to a rest on the ground. "Crap."

"Well so much for that idea," Angel said.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. We'll think of something else."

"Hey, guys? I think help just arrived."

Buffy looked around. "Help? From who?"

"Well isn't this bloody ironic?" Spike sneered as he looked up, seeing the trio dangling from the nets. "You continually tell me to bugger off, that you don't want my help, and suddenly, you need someone to come to your rescue."

"What are you doing here, Spike?" Angel asked.

"Well I wasn't following you if that's what you're implying. I actually do have a life. Oh and look…I have a sword too! That could really come in handy right about now, couldn't it?"

"Are you going to help us get out?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, you want me to help you get out?"

"Yes, get us out!"

"I didn't hear you say 'please'."

Buffy groaned. "Can you _please_ help us get out?"

"Hmm, let me think about it." Spike paused for a moment. "Okay, I thought about it. No."

Spike began to walk away.

"Spike!" Buffy shouted.

"Spike, please!" Willow begged.

Spike paused for a moment, then turned around. "Now _that _sounded like someone who actually meant it." He marched toward the tree, staring at Willow's net. "Alright, I'll free Red."

Placing his foot on the tree, Spike lifted himself up. He eased himself up on the branch and inched closer to Willow's net. "Give me your hand."

Willow reached through the net and took Spike's hand. Within a few seconds, he'd torn into the net with his sword. He then pulled Willow up to the branch.

"Thanks, Spike."

"Yeah, you're welcome, or whatever. Good luck with those two." Spike started to turn away.

"Spike, wait! I can't free them by myself!"

"You'll be fine. Just do your little hocus pocus or whatever. Besides, they've made it perfectly clear they don't want _my_ help."

"Will you just cut the damn rope, Spike?" Angel said through gritted teeth.

"Now is that any way to ask for help?"

"Spike, please!" Willow begged again. "It's a matter of life and death! Two kids are in danger and we were on our way to help them!"

"Bloody hell," he muttered. "Fine, I'll free them. But I want something in return."

"I knew there would be a catch," Buffy said.

"There always is," Angel added.

"I let you free, and you let me help you with whatever big bad you're after."

Spike paused for a brief moment, and when he heard no compliance, started to head down the tree again. "Alright then, suit yourself."

Buffy sighed. "Okay, fine. You can help us."

"Well, that's more like it. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Spike moved to the tree's other branch. He leaned forward, cutting the ropes with his sword, and Buffy and Angel landed on the ground with a thud.

"Nice landing, Slayer," Spike called out.

Buffy rubbed her hip.

"You okay?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. That'll leave a bruise though."

"We don't have much time!" Willow said, carefully making her way down the tree with Spike following.

Angel offered his hand to Buffy, pulling her up. "If their traps are here, their campsite can't be too far behind. Let's head this way."

Spike fell in line behind them. "So I don't even get a 'thank you' for saving your asses back there?"

Buffy turned her head around, glaring at him. "Do you know how much time you wasted for us?"

"Yeah, and if I hadn't come along, you'd still be back there. I did you a favor."

Buffy looked away from Spike, taking a deep breath and counting to ten in her head.

"So what big bad and ugly are we chasing tonight? Sloth? Mohra? Ghora?"

"Molgara," Angel answered.

"Oh, flesh-eating demons, eh?"

Buffy gave Spike a sideways look. "And you know this _how_?"

"Because I fed off this girl one time, and a Molgara asked me for the leftovers when I was done with her."

Buffy laughed in disbelief. "Of course."

"_You _asked!"

"What are you up to, Spike?"

"So you're engaging in conversation with me now?"

"I'm talking about Faith. I heard you went to visit her. Why?"

"I was curious about her, and I can already tell she's the fun slayer. Unlike you, she's not an uptight—"

"I _really _wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you," Buffy warned.

"You're wrong about Faith, you know. Her memory loss is real."

"You didn't know her before. You don't know what she's capable of. She's faking the amnesia, trust me."

"And I suppose you're not faking yours?"

"Of course not. I have no reason to fake it."

Spike smirked, and Buffy glared at him.

"_What_?" she demanded.

"Like hell you don't."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You have plenty of reason to want to fake a little memory loss, namely it being the perfect opportunity to dump Captain Cardboard and fight to win back Peaches here."

"That is _not _true! I'm not faking!"

"Neither is Faith. But it's kind of hard to prove, isn't it?"

Buffy had no response to that. She took another deep breath.

"Hey, guys?" Willow said, breaking up the tension. "I think I'm getting a bad vibe feeling."

"I think I am too," Angel said, then looked towards Spike. "Maybe the rest of this walk should be a little more…quieter."

* * *

A few minutes later, Angel could smell smoke in the air. Looking beyond the trees, he saw something. "There, up ahead."

Buffy followed his gaze. "A campfire."

"Let's get a closer look."

Angel led the way to the campsite. Crouching down, he peered over some bushes. "I think we just found them."

Buffy, Willow, and Spike lowered themselves to the ground beside Angel, watching as four demons danced around a fire. Not far away, the two children were bound and gagged to a tree.

"What are they doing?" Buffy asked.

"Probably some sort of ritual," Angel replied. "We need a plan of attack."

"I've got a plan."

Angel turned to Buffy. "What's that?"

"We kill them."

Angel grinned. "I like how you think."

"Will, when the demons are distracted, you get the kids."

"Sure, I'm on it."

"You two," Buffy said, pointing to Angel and Spike. "Follow my lead." Buffy stood up, walked around the bushes, and boldly made her way over to the demon's campsite.

"Hey, big uglies!" she shouted, getting their attention. "You call that dancing?"

The four Molgaras stopped in their tracks, surprised by the sudden intrusion.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked one of them, apparently the leader of the group. "Look at this, fellows. We have an intruder. Looks like tonight, we'll enjoy the appetizer, _and_ the main course."

"_I'm_ the main course?" Buffy asked, mocking flattery. "Oh gosh, I'm honored, really! But it'll be a little hard for you to skin me when you're, you know, dead and all." Buffy ran towards the demon, pushing him into the fire. "Or burning."

The Molgara screamed in agony as the flames engulfed him.

Buffy smiled triumphantly, until another Molgara grabbed her from behind, and the two others charged toward her.

Buffy elbowed the demon, then kicked him in the shin, momentarily throwing him back. He made a move towards her again, but Angel intercepted his attack, pulling him back.

Spike charged towards a third Molgara, wielding his sword, while the remaining Molgara attacked Buffy.

Over by the tree, Willow struggled with the ropes bounding the children, realizing they were a lot tighter than she thought.

"It'll be okay," she whispered, comforting the little girl who had tears trailing down her cheeks. "You're safe now."

Spike, to his disappointment, realized the Molgara's outer skin, with maybe the exception of his face and torso, was like a shell. The Molgara laughed at him, effectively blocking each attack.

Angel picked up the Molgara he was fighting, then slammed him on the ground. The Molgara was back on his feet in no time, ready for more.

Buffy delivered a roundhouse kick to her demon, throwing him back. He flew to the ground, momentarily stunned. As the demon got to his feet, Buffy ran over to a nearby tree. One of the branches was low enough to swing on, and Buffy jumped up, grabbing hold of it. The demon, as expected, charged towards her again. Buffy, swinging her body forward, kicked him again, knocking him off his feet once more.

Willow had finally loosened the ropes enough to undo the knots, and within moments, the children were free. Next, she untied the gag from the little girl's mouth, while the boy, a little older, untied his own.

The demon by the fire, charred, but still alive, watched helplessly as the children were freed. "The sacrifices!" he called out weakly to the others.

The three other Molgaras, incensed by this turn of events, charged towards Willow.

"Oh no you don't," Angel said, seeing the perfect opportunity to grab his demon from behind. He placed his hands on the demon's head and snapped his neck.

Buffy hopped on her demon's back, attempting to pull him back. Spike, seeing his chance to finally do some damage, wielded his sword towards the demon's face, gouging his eye.

"You're welcome," Spike said to Buffy, who looked a little surprised that he voluntarily helped her out.

Meanwhile, Angel took on Spike's demon, who had gotten away once Spike was distracted.

Buffy, seeing the first demon writhing on the ground in pain, suddenly had an idea. She grabbed a nearby branch and lit the end, making a torch. She then lit into the other Molgara, who was still moaning about his eye.

Spike followed suit, making himself a torch as well. He then surprised the remaining Molgara, lighting his back on fire.

Angel stood back, surveying the area, and smiled in satisfaction when he realized all of them were either dead, or dying.

"Are they okay?" Buffy asked, rushing over to where Willow and the kids were.

Willow nodded. "They're fine. Just a little shook up."

"Wow, that was so cool!" said the little boy, smiling in awe at all four of them. "Are you guys like, superheroes or something?"

Angel grinned. "Something like that. What's your name?"

"Topher," the little boy replied. "And this is my little sister Tibby."

"We should get you kids back to your parents. Are you here camping?"

Topher nodded. "We have a cabin near the lake."

Angel kneeled down to the little boy's level. "What were you kids doing out here so late at night?"

"It was all my fault," Topher said. "I went outside and Tibby followed me. I just wanted to go exploring. I thought I could find some night crawlers to catch. Tibby followed me because she always follows me."

"That's when the boogie-monsters got us!" Tibby chimed in.

"We got in a trap. We tried to get away, but they were really strong. Then they tied us to the tree."

"You kids really shouldn't be out here alone at night. It's very dangerous."

"Yeah, I know that now."

"Come on, let's get you kids back to your cabin," Buffy said, taking Tibby's hand. "Your parents must be worried sick about you."

"They probably don't know we're gone," Topher said. "We snuck out."

"Don't tell them!" Tibby begged, tugging on Buffy's shirt. "We'll get in trouble!"

"Hey, that's a cool sword," Topher said, admiring the weapon in Spike's hand. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Got it from a Mohra demon," he replied.

Angel's phone suddenly rang, and he dug it out of his pocket. "Of course, now it works," he muttered, then answered. "This is Angel."

"Angel, I tried calling you earlier," Wesley said on the other end.

"The signal on my phone is going in and out."

"Did you find the children?"

Angel looked at the children, smiling at another job well done. "We found them. They're safe now."

"Boy I can't wait to tell my friends this!" Topher said. "Are you _sure_ you guys aren't real superheroes?"

"Well…maybe we are a little," Buffy said, smiling at the boy.

* * *

A/N: So the Molgaras…yeah, totally made them up, unless my subconscious remembers a demon called Molgara that I don't know about. But the Molgara's weren't really the important part. Two things I needed to address. Number One: Cordelia still has visions! She's only had two in this story so far and she needed to have another one. Number Two: Spike needed to help out somehow. I wanted to bring him into the story a little more, and I wanted him to be in a position in which Buffy needed _his_ help. Plus, someone needed to call out Buffy on her attitude towards Faith and Spike was the perfect character to do that. She's still feeling a little bitter though…

The kids were just random….nothing special about them. And I kept the Josh tradition of naming them with names that are cool but not that common!

Until 43!


	43. Do The Crime, Do The Time

_She was going to jail._

Faith stared off into space, half-listening to her lawyer speak about hearings and arraignments. The doctor was discharging her today, and it was apparent from here on out, her home was going to be a 8 x 12 prison cell.

"Faith, are you listening?" her lawyer asked, a frown on his business-like face.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Look, I understand this is confusing and that you're scared—"

"I'm not scared! Alright? I'm just pissed off! This isn't fair. You're my lawyer, right? Aren't you supposed to be getting me out of this?"

"Maybe I'm not making myself clear. The courts don't care you have amnesia, and you're not first client to claim—"

"I'm not faking!"

"I understand that, but if the courts dropped charges for everyone arrested who claimed amnesia, our jails wouldn't have such an overcrowding problem. They don't care you can't remember, and the law is straightforward. If you do the crime, you do the time."

"So much for innocent until proven guilty," Faith muttered.

"My job is to give you a fair trial, Faith, and I'm going to make sure that happens."

"How could I even know this professor guy? Because from what I've been told, I wasn't even a college student."

"Whether or not you knew Professor Worth is irrelevant. The fact is a witness claims she saw you at his apartment that night. Lucky for you that witness is an elderly woman with dementia, so she isn't exactly credible."

"So what did I _supposedly _do to this guy?"

"The police believe you brutally stabbed him."

"Well maybe he was a vampire."

The lawyer chuckled. "Now there's a defense I haven't heard before. Look, you have a few things in your favor. For one, the evidence is all circumstantial. The prosecution will have a hard time getting those charges to stick. As for the other alleged assaults, they don't have much evidence at all to go on. So don't be too quick to think it's over." The lawyer suddenly rose from his chair and picked up his briefcase. "I'm sorry I have to cut this visit short, but I have another appointment. We'll talk later."

Faith watched as her lawyer left the room, then stared at her handcuffs, giving them a shake. Innocent until proven guilty? Hardly.

"You're still here?" asked a familiar voice.

Faith recognized the British accent, and smiled when she saw him. "Hey."

"Thought you'd be long gone by now." Spike walked into the room and sat down in the chair the lawyer had just vacated.

"Oh. Well you came just in time. I'm leaving sometime today."

Spike smiled. "I knew you'd come to your senses soon enough."

Faith shook her head. "No, I'm not escaping, Spike. I'm going to jail."

Spike laughed for a moment, then abruptly stopped. "You're serious."

Faith shrugged. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go. And my lawyer says he might be able to get the charges dropped, or at least some of them anyway. Look, I'm glad you stopped by. I was hoping I'd see you again. You saved me from those…Watcher guys or whatever. I don't think I ever thanked you. I owe you one. I don't know how I'll pay you back from behind bars, but I'll figure something out."

"You can pay me when you get out."

"You think I'll get out?"

Spike smiled at her. "Oh I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Interesting story in the paper," Wesley announced as Angel walked into the kitchen.

Angel headed to the coffee pot and proceeded to pour himself a cup. "What's that?"

"An article about Faith."

Angel took his cup and walked over to the table. "Can I see that?"

Wesley nodded, handing him the paper.

Angel scanned the short article. "Says she's being released from the hospital today."

"And going to jail. She's cooperating with the police."

"For now. Buffy seems to thinks her memory loss is just a ruse."

"Do you believe that?"

Angel frowned. "I'm not sure. Considering the fact that she was in a coma for a year, I wouldn't be surprised if she had some head trauma. But if she is faking, today would be a good day for her to attempt escape." Angel put the paper and coffee back on the table and left the room. A few moments later, he returned, his cover blanket in his hand.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I need to do something, something I should have done a lot sooner. Could you give me a ride, Wes?"

* * *

Buffy knocked on the door and waited on the doorstep. A few moments later, Cordelia cracked the door open, squinting against the sunlight.

"Hey, Cordelia."

"Hey." Cordelia moved aside, letting Buffy inside. "Angel's not here right now."

"Oh, he's not? Where is he?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I don't know. He and Wesley were leaving as I got up. I don't think they'll be gone long though."

"Oh, okay. Well, maybe I'll just wait then?"

"Sure." Cordelia walked over to the couch and curled up against the cushion.

"I left my prom dress here. I keep forgetting to pick it up. I'll just go upstairs and get it."

Cordelia nodded, then closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb.

Buffy paused for a moment, staring at Cordelia and forgetting her dress. "Cordelia? Are you…okay?"

Cordelia opened her eyes and looked up, giving her a surprised, then tired look. "I have a migraine."

"Did you have another vision?"

"No. This is the same migraine from the vision last night. It hasn't completely gone away yet."

"Oh. I'm sorry. Is there anything I can get you? Some aspirin, maybe?"

Cordelia shook her head. "No, I've already taken some pain pills. Just waiting for them to kick in. You know, I wouldn't mind some coffee though. Sometimes the caffeine helps."

"I could make some," Buffy offered.

"That would be great."

Buffy headed to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two cups of coffee. She handed Cordelia one of the mugs. "Here."

Cordelia took the cup gratefully. "Thanks."

Buffy sat down on the other end of the couch. "It must be hard for you, having the visions I mean."

"The visions aren't the hard part. The hard part is feeling normal afterwards."

"Do the headaches normally last this long?"

"Sometimes."

"Angel told me you get headaches from the visions, but he never told me they affected you this bad."

"That's because he doesn't know. Do me a favor? Please don't tell Angel you saw me like this."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want him to know, that's why. Look, you know how Angel is. If he knew the visions made me feel this bad afterwards, and for this long, he'd start to feel guilty at asking for my help in the first place. The truth is, I really do want to help him. I feel like I…like I need to help him."

"That's really amazing of you, Cordelia."

Cordelia gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I know. I've done some growing up, I think." Cordelia rose slowly from the couch. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to go upstairs and lay down for a while."

"Sure."

"Thanks again for the coffee. And, Buffy? What I just told you…"

"I won't say anything."

"Thanks."

Cordelia left the room, and Buffy looked on, admiring Cordelia for her strength, and realizing her opinion of the woman had just changed dramatically.

* * *

Faith was staring at the half-eaten sausage on her plate, wondering if she could stomach any more of it, when she felt the odd feeling that someone was watching her. She looked up, seeing a dark-haired man standing in the doorway. And he was, indeed, staring at her.

"If you take a picture, it'll last longer."

Faith watched as the man made his way into the room and pulled up a chair, all without saying one word to her.

"Well this is new. Mostly when strangers come to see me, they just start yelling at me. Do you even talk at all?"

"You don't remember me?"

"No. Should I?"

He leaned a little closer to her eye level. "Are you sure you don't remember me?"

She was getting a strange vibe from the man, but what it was exactly, she couldn't put her finger on. "No, I don't remember you. Look, I'm not really in the mood for another round of 'Let's tell Faith how bad she is'. I'm going to jail. Satisfied?"

"You seem to be cooperating with the police."

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have any other choice. I can't even go home because I don't even know where the hell home is."

"Boston."

"What?"

"Your hometown? It's Boston. But you haven't lived there for a while."

"Who are you? Do you like…know me or something?"

"You tried to kill me."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Okay, look, if you're thinking of trying something with me, you're making a huge mistake. First of all, there's a guard outside my door. And second, I'm a lot stronger than I look."

"Violence wasn't what I had in mind."

"What do you want?"

"I came to tell you there's still time for you to change. You hurt a lot of people, whether or not you remember it. The best thing for you to do is to make amends, turn over a new leaf, make some changes in your life. You can't change what happened in the past, but you can always change the future."

"You speak like someone who's talking from experience."

"I wasn't always exactly a standout guy either. But that doesn't mean I'm not a good person now. You can be good too, but you'll have to work for it. And only you can decide if you really want it or not. You should think of this as a fresh start."

"So that's it? You're not going to yell at me or tell me what a bad person I am?"

"No. I just want you to keep cooperating with the police."

Faith watched as he stood up, placing the chair back against the wall. She then looked down, staring at her handcuffs again. She knew how easy it would be to get out of them, but for some unknown reason, she kept stopping herself from doing it. "Hey, wait, you never did…" Faith looked up, realizing the man was gone. "…tell me your name."

* * *

The front door swung opened, and Buffy looked up as a smoky, blanket-clad figure rushed into the room. Wesley followed, closing the door behind them.

Buffy stood up from the couch and walked over to them. "Angel."

Angel pulled the blanket off and tossed it aside. "Hey."

Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist, tilting her head up. "Where've you been?"

Angel glanced at Wesley, who nodded, getting the hint. "I think I'll catch up on some of my reading. Excuse me."

"What's going on?"

Angel took Buffy's hand and led her to the couch. "I went to see Faith."

"You what? Why?"

"To see if what Spike was saying was true."

"You don't actually believe Spike, do you?"

Angel didn't reply, and Buffy could tell from the look on his face alone what he was thinking. "You don't think she's faking amnesia either, do you?"

"Honestly, Buffy, I'm not sure. But I think it's a good possibility she isn't."

"Faith's a really good liar."

"I know. But there was something about her eyes. When she looked at me, it was like there was no hint of recognition. Her eyes were just…empty."

"What did you say to her?"

"I told her whether or not she could remember, that still didn't change the fact she hurt a lot of people. And I told her she could change if she wanted to, that she couldn't change the past, but all she could do is try to amend for the hurt she caused."

"I hope she follows your advice."

"I hope so too."

"Just so you know, I'm still not so convinced she's not faking."

Angel gave her a stern look. "Buffy."

"_Okay_! Fine. I'll _consider_ the possibility she's not faking." Buffy placed her hand on his chest, running her fingers in circles over the spot where the arrow had pierced him. "I'm still angry at her I guess. When I think of how close I came to losing you..."

"Come here," Angel said softly, pulling Buffy into his arms as he laid back with her on the couch. "Let's not talk about Faith anymore."

"Deal."

"Let's instead talk about how nice it is to see you this morning."

"I remembered I still needed to pick up my prom dress."

"Oh, is that all?"

Buffy grinned. "No. I was hoping to surprise you in bed, but when I got here, you were already gone."

Angel shook his head. "I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning."

"You know, you never did stay over last night. Maybe we could go upstairs for a while?"

"You want to go upstairs, huh?"

Buffy rolled over until she was on top of him. "Well we have all this free time now." Buffy leaned forward, kissing his lips. "Might as well finish what we started last night."

* * *

"Home sweet home," said the prison guard as she opened the door to the cell and ushered Faith inside.

Faith turned around, seeing the cell door close behind her.

"Don't cause any trouble," the guard warned before walking away.

Once alone, Faith stared at the walls of her prison block, realizing the cell was much smaller than she thought it would be. A bunk bed sat on the right side, and Faith sat down on the bottom one. At least she had her choice of what bunk she wanted.

Realizing she had nothing else to do, Faith rested her head on the pillow and tried to block out the sounds of the other prisoners.

* * *

A/N: Forgive me if there are any inaccuracies regarding Faith and her whole legal situation. I tried to research the subject as much as I could, but I'm not a lawyer. And furthermore, I don't have any experience with jail. ;)


	44. Unexpected Visitor

The Magic Box had been busy today, but fifteen minutes before closing, things had finally calmed down. Anya looked around the store, taking mental inventory of the items. The crystal balls were still selling like hotcakes, which Anya could not for the life of her understand. But they brought in money, so who was she to complain?

With the shop empty at the moment, Anya took the opportunity to go down to the basement to retrieve a few boxes. Giles had ordered some new merchandise for the shop which had come in today, and Anya would make sure they were on the shelves by morning.

When she returned, she set the items behind the counter. She'd restock the shelves later after she closed shop and counted the money in the register.

"Good evening."

Anya turned to face the man in front of her. "Oh, hi. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come you in. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes. I have a list of items I require. Perhaps you'd be so kind as to locate them for me?"

Anya smiled, taking the list from him. "Sure. Let me see what you have here." Anya quickly scanned the list, then frowned. "Hmm…"

"Is there a problem?"

"Well, we have everything on your list, that's not the problem. But these books are in the special collection, and I'm not allowed to sale them without a manager's approval, and he's not here at the moment. And some of these things really shouldn't be sold together. It could be dangerous."

The man smiled at her, leaning forward and whispering. "You may sale these items to me. It will be no problem."

Anya smiled back at him. "Well…alright. You look like you know what you're doing. I'll just get those items for you."

The man nodded. "Thank you."

Anya left to retrieve the items and returned to the counter a few minutes later with her hands full. "This should be everything. I'll just ring these items up for you."

The man patted his pocket, giving Anya another smile. "Oh, how foolish of me. I seem to have forgotten my wallet."

"Oh. Well that's okay. We can hold these items for three days."

"Or perhaps you'll give them to me without charge."

Anya nodded. "Okay. Sure. I'll just bag these for you." Anya placed the items into a paper bag and handed them over to him. "Thank you for shopping the Magic Box. We value your patronage."

The man smiled, taking Anya's hand and kissing the back of it. "The pleasure…has been all mine."

Anya watched the man walk away, a grin plastered to her face. "Oh! Have a nice day! Come back again!"

* * *

"Do you think it's possible?" Buffy asked Xander as they walked along the sidewalk, heading for the Magic Box. "Do you think Faith is actually telling the truth? Have I been completely wrong about her from the start?"

Xander frowned. "It's Faith, Buffy. I don't know what kind of act she's trying to pull, but I think she's definitely up to something."

"Angel is a pretty good judge of character though."

"And what, Spike is too?"

"No, I never said that. I thought you liked Spike."

"Okay, I think you might have bumped your head a _little_ too hard, Buff."

"Well you were quick to defend him at the hospital when I tried to kill him! You said, and I quote, 'He's sort of been helping us.'"

"I said he's been helping us. I never said I liked him, or that I trusted him. Or Faith for that matter. And the fact that they're in cahoots with one another leaves me a little suspicious."

"Did you really just use the word 'cahoots'?"

"What? It's a cool word!" Xander reached for the door to the Magic Box and held it open for Buffy. "I'm just saying when it comes to Faith and Spike, we should be—An? What's wrong?"

Anya stopped her pacing and stared at the two, obviously in a tizzy about something. "Giles is going to fire me! That's what's wrong!"

"Okay, first, just calm down," Xander said, leading Anya to a chair. "Tell us what happened."

"Well, I was here alone. I was straightening up and checking inventory since it was just before closing. A few of the shelves needed to be restocked so I went down to the basement to get a few things and when I came back, there was this man here. He had a list of things he wanted to buy, and I helped him find it all."

"What did he buy?" Buffy asked.

"It's all on this list here." Anya reached into her pocket for the paper and handed it to her. "And he didn't exactly buy it. He somehow managed to convince me to let him walk out of here without paying."

Xander looked at her, shocked. "You just let him _walk out_?"

"Well I didn't do it on purpose! You know I would never do that! And the cost of those items alone was over a hundred dollars, which will probably come out of my next paycheck unless Giles _fires _me!"

"He's not going to fire you, An," Xander said, reassuring her. "If this guy is that much into magic, he probably put a spell on you."

"I suppose. It was so strange though. He just told me what to do and I did it. It was like I—"

"Didn't even have control?" Buffy asked, finishing her sentence.

Anya nodded. "Yeah. It was exactly like that. I didn't even know what I was thinking, and it wasn't until he left that I snapped out of it and realized what I had done."

Xander looked at Buffy, worried. "You don't think that was…?"

"Mind control is definitely his M.O."

"Who?" Anya asked, looking from Xander to Buffy.

"Maleficus," Buffy answered.

"That was _him?"_

Buffy walked behind the counter and pulled out the sketch Angel had done a couple of weeks ago. "Anya, did he look like this?"

Anya studied the sketch for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, that's him. I didn't really look at the sketch before. Somehow I pictured him more…I don't know…old-looking. Instead he was quite handsome."

Xander balled his hands into fists. "_Handsome?"_

Anya smiled at him. "Well not as handsome as you, of course. No, he was sort of like a cross between Brad Pitt and…Dracula."

"_Brad Pitt_?" Xander asked.

"_Dracula?" _Buffy asked at the same time.

"Giles is going to fire me!"

"Giles is not going to fire you," Buffy said, trying once again to reassure her. "This is not your fault. It's Maleficus. He has this power over everyone. You couldn't have stopped if you tried. I couldn't either."

"You're not staying in the shop alone anymore," Xander said, putting his foot down.

"It's probably not a good idea for us to be here at all right now since this is a public place. If he was just here, he could certainly come back. We need to call an emergency meeting at Giles'. ASAP."

* * *

"The strange thing was, I wasn't scared," Anya explained as the group met at Giles' apartment later that night. "Of course, I suppose his intention wasn't exactly to scare me. He just wanted to _steal merchandise_," Anya added, a little miffed at the thought of the shop's lost profits.

"You're still not staying there by yourself," Xander said. "In fact, I vote we close shop as soon as the sun goes down."

"But if we limit the hours, we'll have fewer customers!" Anya protested.

Giles frowned. "I think Xander is right. If Maleficus is showing his face in public again, it might be too dangerous to stay there after hours."

"What about our protection spell?" Tara asked.

Giles shook his head. "The shop is welcome to the public."

"And therefore, all evil vamps welcome," Buffy muttered. "I don't get it." Buffy stood up and began to pace. "He's been lurking in the shadows for weeks now and hasn't made a move since the night his soldiers attacked me. So why is he suddenly showing his face now?"

"He wants something," Angel answered. "What did he take from the shop again?"

Buffy reached into her pocket, pulling out the list and handing it to him.

"Some potions, a few herbs, but mostly books," Anya answered. "All from the special collection."

"What about the raid two weeks ago?" Xander asked. "Do you think whoever trashed the shop were his guys?"

"It's possible," Giles said. "And if so, perhaps they didn't bring back everything Maleficus wanted, or maybe there was something else he needed."

"So he came by to pick it up himself," Wesley said.

"We need to find him," Angel said. "We need to find out where he's hiding. Then maybe we can keep an eye on him."

Willow looked up from her laptop. "I'm working on it."

Angel walked over to Willow, looking over her shoulder as she typed away on her laptop. "Any luck?"

"Sorry, Angel. I've been searching the property records, but so far, nothing."

"This is crazy," Buffy said. "You'd think if some rich lawyers raised the guy, they'd at least put him up in some posh mansion."

"Maybe all the 'posh mansions' were already taken," Cordelia remarked. "Like Angel's for example. It's so lovely with its dim lighting and cobweb corners."

"Or maybe we're going about this all wrong," Angel said, ignoring Cordelia's jab at him. "We've been spending all this time looking above ground, but have we looked underground?"

"You think Maleficus is hiding underground?" Buffy asked.

"Powerful vampires don't always go for the nicest digs, especially the older ones. The Master never did. He actually preferred living in the sewers. Willow, can you keep searching?"

Willow looked up from her computer. "Sure. I'll check some other things."

"In the meantime," Wesley announced, standing to his feet, "I think we ought to examine that list some more. Maybe we can find out what Maleficus wanted so badly."

"Well I can tell you already the spells in those books alone are all quite dangerous," Giles said.

"I thought this guy was once some mega warlock or something," Xander said. "Why would he have any need for spells books? Shouldn't he know them all by now?"

"Maybe he's feeling a little rusty," Cordelia said. "He has been dead for a few hundred years, hasn't he?"

"He could be looking for new spells," Tara answered. "When it comes to magic, there's always something new to learn. Even the most skilled warlock will appreciate a good spell book."

Giles nodded. "Tara's right. Even though Maleficus is very powerful, he'll always have a desire to learn more."

"Can I take a look at that list?" Tara asked, and Angel handed it to her. She scanned the list for a moment, stopping when she came across something familiar. "He took _Methods of Mind Control._ I recognize this one."

"You're familiar with it?" Wesley asked.

Tara nodded. "When we were researching Maleficus, I remember reading about spells of mind control and hypnosis. This book covers your simple mind control spells, but it also includes spells of mind control on a much grander scale."

"Of course," Giles said, reaching over to take a book from his table. He turned to the page he had bookmarked.

"You're still reading the Watchers' diaries?" Buffy asked.

"Yes. I remember reading something in here. Here we go. It says here, '_It appears though his powers of mind control are supreme, it seems he can only inflict these powers while the victim is in his presence. He lacks the ability to have mind control over a general population from a distance. Thank the heavens for that.'"_

"So basically, he wants to control the whole town?" Buffy said.

Giles closed the book and placed it back on the table. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that's his plan exactly. He wants power. He wants control. Why stop at one person when he could control us all?"

"Then I have to stop him, Giles! I have to stop him _now_. No waiting until the full moon or whenever. If he wants everyone in Sunnydale to be his slave, then he's more dangerous than we thought."

"Actually, it would be difficult for him to perform a spell like this now," Tara said.

Buffy turned to Tara. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there'd have to be a situation of mass pandemonium. The spell only works if humans are in a vulnerable position to begin with."

"Which inevitably would be what would happen if the Hellmouth remained open," Giles added. "Sunnydale would be overrun with demons, more so than it already is. And if that won't create pandemonium, I don't know what will."

"Oh, okay. Well that puts my mind…a little at ease," Buffy said.

"We won't have much time though." Giles took off his glasses and began cleaning them with his handkerchief. "Once the Hellmouth opens, we'll only have a small window of time to close it again."

"And what happens if we don't close it in time?" Xander asked.

"We won't be able to close it at all," Giles said grimly.

"Hmm, this is strange," Willow suddenly said.

"What's that?" Angel asked.

"I'm looking at a map of the city's sewer system."

Angel and Buffy peered over Willow's shoulder.

"Looks normal to me," Buffy said.

"Yeah, it looks normal. But take a look at this other map." Willow clicked on the second window at the bottom of her screen, bringing up a different map, and displayed them side by side. "It's of the same sewer system one year ago. See any difference?"

Angel studied the screen, tracing his finger along the screen. "This section isn't on the map from last year."

"And did you notice its proximity to the Hellmouth?"

"It almost right next to it," Buffy said.

"That's not the only weird part. Check this out." Willow did some more clicking around until she pulled up a record. "This is a list of projects Wolfram & Hart is working on. I hacked in again."

"The Sunnydale Project. It's right there," Buffy said, pointing to the text.

"It's a 'sewer project'," Willow said. "And Wolfram & Hart is somehow involved. How weird is _that_?"

"Not so weird if they raised a master from the dead," Buffy said.

"I may be wrong, but to me, it looks like this could be an extensive underground lair."

"Then that has to be where Maleficus is hiding," Angel said.

* * *

"_Had enough, Slayer?" Maleficus smirked as he appeared before her._

_Buffy charged towards him, pushing her stake forward, but she only managed to stake thin air as Maleficus vanished once again. "I'm getting really tired of this!"_

"_You're bored? Alright, then we shall play a new game."_

_Buffy turned around, holding her stake up. _

"_Now, now, Slayer, you should be careful with that thing. Someone might get hurt."_

"_You're right. Someone is about to get hurt."_

"_Put the stake away."_

_Buffy placed the stake in her pocket._

"_There. That's better."_

_He was grinning too widely, and Buffy wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face. It was then she realized what she had done. She'd put her weapon away, just like that. And now, she couldn't seem to move her legs at all._

_Just like before._

"_Will?" Buffy looked towards the ground where Willow sat against a headstone. "Now would be a good time to, you know, do your magic!"_

_Willow stared at Maleficus, a dreamy expression in her eyes. "No, that's okay. I think I'll leave the magic to him. He's so much better at it than I am. How does he do that disappearing thing?"_

_Buffy turned to Maleficus. "What did you do to her?" _

_Maleficus simply smiled. "I believe she's a fan. Maybe when all of this is over, she'll let me feed from her."_

"_Don't you touch her!"_

_Maleficus laughed as he walked around her. "You know what I enjoy about you slayers? You all act so…tough, like you're not afraid of anything. But deep down inside? You're trembling with fear." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "I can smell it on you."_

_He placed his cold hands on her neck, sending a shiver down Buffy's spine. _

"_This pretty little neck? I could break it with my bare hands. It's not nearly as entertaining as watching you tortured, but watching you squirm in anticipation is quite enjoyable."_

_He leaned forward again, his voice giving her another cold chill. "Tell me, Slayer, would you like to die tonight?"_

"_Leave her alone!" _

_Angel suddenly emerged from the bushes and charged towards him, wielding his ax. Maleficus disappeared, and Angel fell to the ground._

"_I think you missed," he taunted, reappearing again._

"_Angel, you have to get out of here!"_

"_No, I won't leave you."_

"_Do you really think you can fight me?"_

"_No," Angel said through gritted teeth. "I think I can kill you."_

_Angel got off the ground and charged towards him again. _

_He made no effort to vanish this time. Instead, Maleficus raised his hand, throwing Angel across the air. He smashed against a crypt wall seconds later._

"_Angel!" Buffy cried._

_Maleficus laughed as Angel made an effort to stand up. "That looks like it was very...painful."_

"_Leave him alone! I'm the one you want, not him!"_

"_On the contrary. I want to kill him too."_

_Angel, finally on his feet, moved closer to Maleficus while his back was turned._

"_Why don't you stay right there, vampire," he said, knowing Angel was behind him._

_Angel struggled to move, realizing his feet were firmly planted to the ground. "I'm going to kill you! You bastard!"  
_

"_Maybe you should also be quiet."_

_Angel continued to struggle, although he was silent now._

"_Please let him go!"_

"_I think this is absolutely fascinating. A slayer in love with a vampire? I have to say though, I'm disappointed. Out of all the vampires you chose to love, you pick the one with a soul." Maleficus shook his head. "What kind of a vampire has a conscious? Not a real powerful one, that's for sure."_

"_Let him go. This fight is between you and me, not him."_

"_You see, the very fact that he's important to you? It makes the idea of killing him even more appealing." He stepped closer to Buffy, his face inches from hers. "Give me your stake."_

"_No," Buffy sobbed. She handed it to him anyway, unable to control her own actions._

"_This is a fine piece of wood. I've never seen a stake so…well-crafted. It must be your favorite." Without further conversation, Maleficus casually plunged the stake into Angel's chest._

"_ANGEL!"_

_She watched as he reached out to her one last time, his eyes sorrowful and a silent expression of love before his body turned to dust and disappeared before her eyes._

"_NO!"_

_Maleficus roared with laughter, throwing the stake on the ground as Buffy collapsed to her knees, sobbing._

"_That was the most entertaining kill I've had yet. I think I'll let you suffer for a while before I come after you again. Until next time, Slayer."_

_With that, Maleficus vanished, and Buffy ran over to Angel's ashes, sobbing uncontrollably as her hands dug into the ground._

She awoke with a gasp. "Angel!"

Almost immediately, she felt his arms encircle around her. "It's okay," he whispered into her ear. "You were having a nightmare."

"Oh, Angel." Buffy wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.

"It's okay," Angel said again, holding her tighter.

Buffy pulled away, slowly gaining her composure. "It was awful."

"What did you dream?"

"He killed you. He killed you right in front of me. I couldn't stop it."

"It was only a nightmare."

"What if it wasn't just a dream? What if it was a warning?"

"Not every dream you have comes true. I think we've had this discussion before, haven't we?"

Buffy nodded. "We have. But the dream…it felt so real. He's going to come after me, Angel. He's been watching me. I can feel it, and I have to stop him."

"You will. _We will._ He won't be a threat to us much longer."

"Last night was too close, Angel. What if Anya had been hurt? What if I had been there?"

"You weren't, and Anya's just fine."

"I don't understand. Maleficus and his soldiers attack me, then he goes into hiding. Now he shows up again. What kind of game is he playing here?"

"I don't know. But we'll find out." Angel pulled her close to him again, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "We'll find out."

* * *

"In light of recent events, I think it's time we stepped up security a notch," announced Giles before the group at the Magic Box.

"More protection spells?" Cordelia asked.

"We've been doing that," Willow said. "But protection spells can only go so far."

Giles nodded. "Willow is right. We'll need a little more than just a protection spell, especially if Maleficus is making appearances again. Would you mind handing these out?" Giles handed a box to Tara.

Tara took out what appeared to be several necklaces and handed one to Cordelia.

Cordelia placed it around her neck. "Jewelry?"

"Talismans," Tara said. She gave half of them to Willow, who helped pass them around.

"Try to wear these at all times," Willow said.

Xander took a closer look at his. "What's with the star symbol?"

"It's a pentagram," Tara answered. "It represents the five elements: earth, air, water, fire, and spirit."

"The more important question should be how effective is it?" Buffy asked.

"They're about as effective as a cross against a vampire." Willow looked over at Angel. "Sorry, Angel, no offence."

"None taken."

"What Willow means is that it'll give you some protection, but don't count on it to save your life," Tara added.

Buffy placed the talisman around her neck, which was slightly longer than the cross she was wearing. As far as she was concerned, she would take all the protection against Maleficus she could get.


	45. Bump In The Night

It was one minute after two a.m. and the Summers household was quiet.

Tara snuggled closer to Willow in her sleep. Miss Kitty laid curled up against both of them.

Down the hall, Buffy had drifted off into a peaceful slumber, and she smiled as she dreamed. For tonight, her nightmares had ceased, and instead, pleasant dreams of Angel, and peanut butter, took their place.

But something was wrong. Something felt just a little…off. Buffy eyes snapped open, sensing the danger before she saw it. Turning her head, she saw a ghoulish looking demon standing at the foot of her bed.

"Slaaaayerrrr," it hissed, sticking its long tongue out. "Slaaaayerrrr."

Buffy sprang out of bed, the demon's slow movements no match for her quick reflexes. The demon was down on the floor within seconds after a hard kick to his gut, but not dead yet. He struggled to stand back up.

"Oh you want more?" Buffy taunted, giving the demon a round of punches and kicks until finally, she ended his misery with a blow to his head.

"I was having a _really good_ dream by the way," she complained to its dead, lifeless body. "Serves you righ—"

A shrill scream from down the hall alerted Buffy that the dream-interrupting demon had brought friends. Buffy scrambled down the hall to Willow and Tara's room. It had sounded like Tara screaming, and when she arrived to their room, she found Tara in the grips of one of the demons and Willow beating it off with a lamp.

Buffy took over, pulling the demon away from Tara.

"You like extreme makeovers?" Buffy asked before she punched the demon in the nose. "Hope so. I'm about to rearrange your face!"

A few more punches and a hard slam to the wall, and the demon lay curled on the floor, dead as the other one she'd slayed minutes before.

Buffy turned to Willow and Tara. "Are you two okay?"

"Uh…Buffy? Behind you," Willow said, pointing over Buffy's shoulder.

Buffy quickly ducked, missing the demon's fist by an inch. Buffy returned the favor and gave him a little taste of his own medicine, as well as a swift kick to the groin. No demon was immune to that painful treatment.

Eventually, Buffy chased the demon into the hallway, and five seconds later, he was tumbling down the stairs.

Behind her, Willow and Tara peered down, still both a little stunned at their rude awakening.

"I don't understand," Willow said. "How did they get in?"

"They must have breached our protective barrier somehow," Tara mused.

"Can you two put it back? Like, now?" Buffy asked.

Willow and Tara nodded.

"Good, you work on that. And stay close by. There may be more in the house. I'm going to go raid my weapon supply." Buffy dashed back down the hallway and to her bedroom. She stepped over the dead demon on her floor and threw her closet door wide open. Buffy dragged out her weapons chest. Stakes weren't going to work on these bad guys, but a shiny looking sword would do the job quite well.

It was a good thing she was armed. The second the closet door slammed behind her, another ghoulish demon was lurking behind it.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Buffy complained as she went to work fighting the demon.

Killing demons was much easier with a weapon, and after a quick struggle in the hallway, the demon was slain on the floor. The downside to weapons was that usually, there was more blood involved, and Buffy dreaded cleaning this mess up in the morning. Vampires were so much easier…

After a quick sweep of all the bedrooms, Buffy headed downstairs. The demon that had fallen just minutes ago was now getting his bearings and was standing up again.

Buffy introduced him to her shiny new sword, promptly beheading him on her way down.

Downstairs, the kitchen was all clear, but the living room was a different story. A large gaping hole in the window by the couch was apparently how the demons were getting inside. And right on cue, another ugly demon invited himself in.

"Oh no you don't! Not in my house!"

Behind her, Buffy could hear Willow and Tara chanting. They were doing the protection spell now. A quick glance out the window told her there was another demon coming, and she silently hoped Willow and Tara could do the incantation just a little faster.

Buffy fought the demon in the living room, but the living room was darker than upstairs, and it made things harder. Luckily, she managed to cut the demon's arm off, and when he cried out in pain from the missing limb, Buffy took the opportunity to stab him in the gut, ending his misery.

The last demon trying to get inside had just made it to the broken window. His efforts to go through the window failed, and a jolt threw him backwards.

"Yes, it worked!" Willow said triumphantly.

The three watched as the demon, now on his feet, quickly scurried away.

"Is that all of them?" Tara asked.

"I think so," Buffy said, finally getting a moment to catch her breath. She was use to slaying demons late at night, but not _this_ late at night.

"What the hell was that?" Willow asked, a little stunned from the activity as well.

"Trouble," Buffy replied.

* * *

Maleficus laughed in front of the lone Lei-ach demon, who stared at him in confusion.

"The Master Maleficus is not…upset?"

"Upset? Hardly. I enjoyed that little show."

"They restored the magical barrier on the house."

"I expected they would."

"We were unable to kill the slayer."

Maleficus leaned forward, his face inches from his. "I didn't expect you could. That was just…for fun. A little preview for what I have in store for her."

"Does the Master Maleficus need my assistance in any way? I promise I will not disappoint unlike my—"

"No. I want you to leave now."

"Yes, your Master," the demon said with a nod, then turned to leave the cavern.

Maleficus sat back in his seat, turning to see the image reflected on the cavern wall. At the moment, the slayer was talking to the two witches, planning a strategy perhaps. He grinned.

"You think you're so smart, don't you, Slayer? You haven't seen anything yet."

Maleficus waved his hand, and the image projected faded away.

"No, you haven't seen anything yet."

* * *

"How many were there?"

Buffy looked over Giles' shoulder and glanced at Angel standing in the corner, then turned her attention back to her Watcher. "Five. No, I mean six. There were six. The last one got away. And I think they were looking for me specifically. It was hard to understand him, but I was pretty sure one of them was saying 'Slayer' over and over."

The morning after their surprise visitors in the night, Buffy called an emergency meeting at the mansion. It was obvious they were dealing with a serious threat.

"And what did they look like?" Giles asked.

"Really ugly," Willow said.

"Gee, that narrows it down," Cordelia remarked.

"Honestly? Like clowns having a really bad hair day," Buffy said, answering Giles' question. "Really ghoulish looking. White faces, black around the eyes. Plus they had these bloody looking sores all over. Really gross."

"Don't forget the tongue," Tara added.

"Oh yeah, and they had these really long black tongues they kept sticking out. Either they're some kind of reptile/clownish demon or really big fans of Gene Simmons."

"Lei-ach demon," Angel said, giving the name for what it was. "They feed off human bone marrow. As far as demons go, they're not the worse, but they like to surprise attack their victims so they're still quite dangerous."

"There were so many," Buffy said. "I've never even seen this type of demon before."

"Most of the time, they lurk in places where getting victims would be easy, like hospitals, but they occasionally hunt elsewhere," Angel explained.

"I just can't believe they broke into the house, you know?" Buffy stood up and started to pace the room. "All this time, I thought I was so safe, tucked under my covers in the safety of my own house. No one could get to me. And then last night…I can handle a Lei-ach demon or whatever the hell it's called, but I don't like being taken off-guard. I guess demons don't follow the same rules as vampires, do they? They can just come in at any time."

"No invitation necessary," Angel said.

"Yeah. I _really_ don't like surprise visitors."

"I don't get it," Cordelia said, turning to Willow and Tara. "Why can't you two just do your little Wicca magic and conjure up a protection spell to keep them out?"

"That's the thing. We _did_," Willow said.

"The protection spell we put on the house as well as the Magic Box is pretty strong," Tara said. "I don't know exactly how, but they must have figured out a way to break the protection barrier."

Angel shook his head. "No, Lei-ach demons aren't smart enough to know how to do that. They had to have some help."

"Maleficus?" Wesley suggested.

Angel turned to Wesley and nodded. "Most likely. He's certainly got all the resources to do that."

"Well what do we do now?" Buffy asked, looking to Angel for answers.

"For starters, you're moving into the mansion. You'll be safer here. Willow, Tara, you too. We have to assume there will be more attacks, especially since they know where Buffy lives. And next time, it might be something far worse than a Lei-ach demon."

Angel expected Buffy to put up a little resistance, for he knew she didn't like to be told what to do and having decisions made for her. But surprisingly, Buffy nodded her head in agreement.

"Angel, do you really think I'm in that much danger?" she asked.

"Let's just err on the side of caution."

* * *

Angel could not sleep, and it wasn't just his natural tendencies to stay awake at night keeping him up. It was the thought that just two doors down lay the woman who had his heart completely, and who loved him in return despite what he was to her.

He could feel the atmosphere of the grand house change the moment she moved in. Where there were shadows before, there was now light. Where there was once pain, there was now joy. And where there had been despair, there was hope.

Angel could not only sense the change, but he could sense her presence too. He closed his eyes, fully concentrating on the woman just in the other room. If he listened closely, he could hear her very heart beating. If he inhaled deeply, taking in an unnecessary breath, he could smell her aroma permeating the walls. Sometimes it felt as if Buffy were so close, he could reach out and touch her.

Angel opened his eyes. Standing before him was the very girl in question. She was indeed, close enough for him to touch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Angel sat up. "You didn't. Are you okay?"

Buffy nodded, but her eyes told a different story. She took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"What's wrong?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"It's this place, isn't it?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. It's not that. I'm just…afraid to go to sleep." Buffy laughed, but it wasn't because she thought it was funny. She just couldn't believe she had actually spoken those words aloud. "Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard? A slayer afraid to go to sleep. I'm the _Slayer_. I shouldn't be afraid of anything."

Angel brushed his hand lightly against her cheek. "You're human. You can be afraid."

"No, not me. I'm supposed to be brave. We've got an apocalypse on our hands in three weeks and I have to be brave."

"Being brave doesn't mean absence of fear. It means being able to face danger in spite of the fear. You are brave."

"Last night…it threw me, you know? You have this sense of security, this feeling that everything is going to be all right when you're at home and safe and tucked into bed. And then something happens, like demons breaking into your house at 2am. Angel, I could have been killed. And Willow and Tara, too. We all could have been hurt. Thank god I woke up in time. And the craziest thing? A Lei-ach demon isn't nearly as bad as what actually did almost kill me."

In the dark, Angel could see her chin begin to quiver. He wanted to say something, to wrap his arms around her and tell her that it _was_ going to be all right. He would take care of her. But Buffy opened her mouth to speak again, and he wanted her to say what she needed to say.

"I keep thinking about my mom. I try to focus on the good times, but it never works. I always come back to the realization that she's gone, and that I'll never see her again. She's been taken away from me twice already. One I can remember and one I can't. Just snatched away with no warning. And that's how it usually is, isn't it? You're here one minute, and then the next, you're gone. It sort of makes me wonder when my expiration date is going to come."

Angel held her now as Buffy quietly sobbed against his chest. He held her until she regained her composure, and it was only then that she slowly moved out of his embrace.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Of course." Angel shifted his position and pulled Buffy back into his arms. Buffy closed her eyes, letting her hand rest over his chest. Angel placed a light kiss on her temple. "Sleep. I won't let anything hurt you."

Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at Angel. "You won't tell anyone I was afraid, will you?"

"I'll tell them you're brave," he said with a smile.

Buffy, satisfied she was safe here in Angel's arms, closed her eyes again and was finally able to go to sleep.


	46. The Patron Saint of Star Crossed Lovers

A/N: Sorry I've been slack about updates lately. I have a lot of personal stuff going on in my life at the moment. Here's chapter 46…enjoy! :)

* * *

The heavy draperies covering the windows kept the sunlight out, but Angel knew it was morning already. He could hear the faint sound of birds chirping outside in the courtyard.

Buffy was still sleeping. Angel looked down at her, seeing her exactly as he had the moment she closed her eyes. Peaceful, safe, and content. A smile was on her lips, which made him smile. Maybe she was finally having a good dream.

Seeing her like this made him think of another time he saw her this way, and he recalled the day she would never remember. He remembered how perfectly sated she claimed to be, falling asleep in his arms after they had made love. He wondered, and not for the first time, if he had made a mistake in giving up his humanity. It was selfish to want it, and he knew it, but sometimes the desire to love Buffy was almost more than he could handle. He wanted it more than anything. It was only the fear of letting out the demon within that kept him in control.

But Angel knew it had been the right decision. His very purpose since he had first laid eyes on her was to help her, and how could he possibly do that without fighting along her side? Buffy had been so close to death's door nearly two months ago. If what Buffy had faced that night had been enough to take her down, then Angel would have surely never stood a chance to protect her had he been human.

He felt Buffy start to stir beside him, and his thoughts returned to the present day.

Buffy nuzzled closer to him and draped a possessive arm over his body. "Angel?" she murmured, but her eyes were still closed. She was talking in her sleep.

"I'm right here," Angel whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm right here."

* * *

Willow opened the box and inhaled deeply, then let out a contented sigh. "I love the smell of new books! So full of knowledge. So full of history. And spells!" A tickle of excitement ran down her spine. "I love it!"

"You want to put them on the shelf?" Anya asked.

Willow nodded eagerly. "Yes please!" She then proceeded to take the new books Giles had ordered out of the box.

The phone rang, and Anya answered. "Magic Box, this is Anya speaking….Adriana! It's so good to hear from you!"

Willow stopped what she was doing and ran over to where Anya stood, begging for details. "Is that your gypsy friend? What does she say? What does she say?"

"_Hold on_," she whispered to Willow. "Yes, I'm doing great! How are you?...Oh no, that's okay. I figured as much. So how was Italy at this time of year?"

Willow sat down, drumming her fingers along the counter. Anya was obviously catching up with an old friend. There was no telling how long this phone call would take.

After a few minutes of conversation, Anya remembered the reason for contacting her friend in the first place.

"Oh, so Adriana, about my message. Do you think you could help my friends out?...Yeah, sure. That sounds great!"

"What does she say?" Willow asked impatiently.

"Hold on a second, Adriana." Anya turned to Willow. "She said we can come over later this afternoon. Is that alright?"

"That's perfect!" Willow nearly squealed in excitement, then grabbed her purse and headed out the door, forgetting the new books. She couldn't wait to tell Tara.

* * *

Willow stared at the mansion and well-manicured lawn in awe. "Wow, this place is…huge."

"I had no idea being a vengeance demon was so…profitable," Tara added.

"No, that's not what makes it profitable," Anya said as she pulled the car into the circular driveway. "Living for centuries and accumulating wealth. That's what makes it profitable."

Willow gave her a smile. "No wonder you're so good with money."

Anya got out of the car and led the way to the front door. "We're a little early, but that's okay. We might be here for a while."

"Hey, Anya? Wait a second."

Anya turned around, seeing Willow still standing by the car. "What's the matter?"

"Look, I know she's your friend and all, but she's still a…well, a vengeance demon. Are you sure we can trust her?"

"Relax. Adriana's actually a nice girl. Well, unless you're on her bad side, of course. Don't get on her bad side."

Willow cast a wary look toward Tara.

"Willow, you begged me to do this! You can't be having seconds thoughts now! You still want to help Buffy and Angel, right?"

Willow nodded. "More than anything."

"Then Adriana's your best chance. Come on."

Willow and Tara followed Anya up the front steps. Anya lifted the brass knocker and knocked on the door.

When the door opened, a young looking woman with a warm smile, colorful clothing, and long black hair answered the door.

"Anyanka!" she shrieked, embracing her old friend.

"Adriana, you look wonderful as always!"

"And you've colored your hair blonde! I love it! Won't you all come in?" Adriana moved aside, allowing her guests to enter and leading them into the foyer. "So these are your friends?"

"Yes. Adriana, this is Willow."

"Hi," Willow said.

"And that's Tara."

"Hello."

"And you two are both witches?"

"Yes, we are," Willow nodded.

Adriana smiled. "How would you two like to become vengeance demons?"

"Oh…no thanks. I-I mean we, well we like being witches," Willow stammered.

Adriana shrugged. "Well it isn't for everybody." She looped her arm around Anya's, leading her into the living room. "So, how is the human life treating you these days?"

"Surprisingly well. I've come to realize I like being human."

Adriana laughed. "You must be in love."

"I am."

Anya and Adriana made idle chitchat while Tara and Willow trailed behind, pausing every moment or two to look at something unusual.

Willow stared at the knickknacks, paintings, and various sculptures around. She jumped at the sight of a human skull on the shelf. She hoped that thing wasn't real.

"_What is this?"_ Tara whispered, holding up something that resembled a voodoo doll.

"_Put it back!_ Come on."

Tara placed the voodoo doll, or whatever it was, back on the table and followed Willow into the grand living room.

"Please, have a seat," Adriana said. "Make yourselves at home."

A silver tray with scones sat on the coffee table, and Willow and Tara each took one while Anya and Adriana continued to gossip.

"Oh it's just not the same without you around, Anyanka! Are you sure you don't want me to talk to D'Hoffryn for you? I think he might listen to me."

"I might have taken you up on that offer a year ago, but no. I've discovered I really do enjoy mortal life."

"Wow. You must really have it bad for this man."

Anya smiled. "I think I do."

"Well in that case, we should see what help your friends need so that you may return to him tonight." Adriana turned to Willow and Tara. "So, Anyanka tells me you need help with a gypsy curse?"

Willow nodded. "That's right, and we were hoping maybe with your knowledge of gypsy magicks, you could help."

"Tell me what kind of gypsy curse it is. There are many."

"Well, it's sort of complicated to describe. But it involves giving someone a soul."

"It deals with matters of love, Adriana," Anya added.

Adriana lit up, a smile on her face. "Matters of love?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, love has something to do with this too."

"Then you've come to the right place."

"Adriana's not only a gypsy, but love is her vengeance specialty."

Adriana smiled again. "It's true. I call myself the Patron Saint for Star-crossed Lovers. While Anyanka here is, or was, the avenger for scorned women, I on the other hand seek vengeance upon anyone who stands in the path of true love. Now if only Romeo and Juliet had sought out my help. They really did exist, you know."

"Can I ask you a question?" Tara asked.

Adriana nodded.

"Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to choose love as your…vengeance specialty?"

"When I was young, I grew up in a village that was very poor. I lived with my father, and he was a very…angry man. Angry at me for killing my mother in childbirth, angry at me for not being a son, angry because we were poor and he couldn't afford a dowry to marry me off. Who knows? I didn't much like him either, and I spent most of my time with my maternal grandmother, who taught me everything I know about gypsy magicks. I was very sad when she passed away.

"Then there was this one day when a man came to our village. He was a foreigner, and he was a scholar. He spoke many languages, including my own, and I loved his accent. He was researching our culture, our traditions, and he was very kind to me. Never had anyone other than my grandmother cared for me as much as he did, and we soon fell in love.

"My father, of course, was opposed to our union, and we were forced to meet in secrecy. And then one day, Renaldo asked me to marry him, and I accepted. We planned to run away together, but my father discovered our plan, and he was very cruel to me. That's when I did what I had to do."

"You…killed him?" Willow asked hesitantly.

Adriana laughed. "No, of course not! I used magic to castrate him! He wanted to forbid me from the pleasures of love, and I, in turn, forbid him from it as well! A little poetic justice, don't you think?"

"You see why you don't want to get on Adriana's bad side?" Anya said.

"That's when I became a vengeance demon. I thought if I could help others like me, the world would be a much better place."

"So did you and Renaldo ever get the chance to be together?" Tara asked.

"Oh yes, Renaldo and I had some very wonderful years together. We traveled the world, explored places I'd never been to before. And he taught me many things. But mostly we enjoyed each other's company. Unfortunately, he caught illness during one of our travels, and he became victim to a plague. And I, meanwhile, continued to live forever."

Willow frowned. "That's…really sad."

"Yes, it was very sad, but the time we had together was very precious. And had it not been for Renaldo, I would not have found my passion for what I love to do most. I'm a firm believer that those who love each other should be able to be together, no matter what anyone else thinks of them."

"That's what we think too," Willow said, smiling.

"Well, enough about me. Tell me now what you need, and I shall see if I can help."

"We have this friend," Willow started. "He's a vampire, but he's not exactly a normal vampire. You see, he was cursed with a soul. By gypsies."

"He killed one of their own I take it?"

"Yes. But that was when he was Angelus, and it was a long time ago. When he was cursed with a soul, he changed. Instead of killing people, he decided to help people. He became Angel."

"And now, your friend?"

"Yes. The problem, you see, isn't exactly the curse he's under. It's the clause that came with the curse. If Angel experiences a moment of perfect happiness, he loses his soul, and reverts back to Angelus, the cold-blooded killer he used to be. In theory, that would a great punishment for a vampire with a murderous streak. Angel was never supposed to be happy. He was supposed to spend eternity feeling sorry for all the horrible things he had done. And he did...for a while. But then he started helping people instead of hurting them, and that's when he fell in love."

Adriana nodded, taking this all in. "Love is his perfect happiness. I think I'm beginning to understand."

"He fell in love with our friend Buffy. And things were fine for a while. And then they..._you know_."

Adriana shook her head, not understanding, and Willow's cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

"They had sex," Anya said.

"And he turned evil again," Willow added.

"Ah, I see," Adriana said. "So you need help...turning him back?"

"Oh no, this happened two years ago. Miss Calendar, she was a teacher of ours, and actually a member of the Kalderash clan that cursed him in the first place. She helped us with the restoration spell, and he's back to normal now."

"Alright, so what is it that you need me to help you with?"

"We want him to stay cursed, because without his soul he's a vicious monster, but we want to take out the happiness clause. Angel deserves to be happy for all the good he's done."

"You want to alter the curse?"

Willow smiled brightly. "Yes! Yes, exactly!"

Adriana shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that cannot be done."

The smile on Willow's face fell, her hopes sinking. "You can't help then?"

"I said I couldn't alter the curse. I never said I couldn't help you."

"I don't understand," Tara said, speaking up. "Why can't the curse be altered? It seems that it could be so simple. Not that the magic is simple, but the idea."

"Gypsy magicks are a little…different from your ordinary magic. Although you're witches, so I'm sure you're aware of this."

Willow nodded. "I was the one who performed the restoration spell. It was unlike any spell I've ever done before, especially the part where I started speaking in Rumanian. And I don't even know Rumanian! It was like I felt an energy rush through me."

"You attempted to alter the curse."

"No, it was the same spell. Miss Calendar just translated the text to English. Not that it seemed to matter though, seeing as how that spirit or whatever took over me."

"By translating the text, your Miss Calendar altered the original curse."

"I thought you just said it couldn't be altered?" Tara said.

"It can't, but translations are sometimes inaccurate. Any attempt to alter gypsy spells like this would result in a spirit taking over your body to complete the curse as originally intended. It's sort of like….how can I explain? A way to protect the spell? Gypsies are very protective of their magicks as I'm sure you know. They don't like their magicks to be changed. It'd be simple to take the clause out of the curse, but I guarantee if you performed the spell, you'd get the same results every time."

"You said you could help," Willow said. "If you can't alter the curse, then what can you do?"

"Simple. We create a new curse."

"Can you do that?" Tara asked.

Adriana laughed, glancing at Anya. "She wants to know if I can do that."

Anya nodded. "If Adriana says she can do it, she can. Trust me."

"I didn't get to be a vengeance demon for nothing."

* * *

Angel reached for his shirt and was just putting it back on when he heard her voice from across the room.

"You don't have to put your shirt back on. I kind of like you without it."

Angel gave her a smile. "You're up."

Buffy walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You were doing tai chi without me?" she asked with a pout.

"I didn't want to wake you."

"You could have woke me. I would have done tai chi with you."

"I'll keep that in mind next time. Did you have a good nap?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes. I love your bed. Your pillow smells like you."

"So you _were _hogging my pillow last night."

Buffy playfully hit him on the chest. "I wasn't hogging anything."

"I wasn't complaining about it."

Buffy tilted her head up for a kiss, then pulled away and headed to the window. She moved the draperies aside an inch to peek out. "I think I'll stop by the Magic Box, see if Giles has any updates. Where are Willow and Tara?"

"They're not here. They left a few hours ago."

Buffy turned away from the window. "They left? Where'd they go?"

"I'm not sure. Something about researching a spell I think."

* * *

"There are several things you need," Adriana said, standing up and walking over to her cabinet. "Fortunate for you, I have some of those things." She opened the cabinet, revealing shelves lined with jars from top to bottom.

"You're drooling, Willow," Tara teased.

"She has so much _stuff!"_

"Let's see…you'll need herbs, incense, candles…I won't give you any of those. I'm sure you have plenty."

"More than we need."

"You'll need a few certain amulets and stones. Do you have an Orb of Thesulah?" she asked, holding one up.

"We have one."

"I have so many. Take it anyway. In case you need a spare."

"A lot of these seem to be the same ingredients we needed for the last spell."

"The spells are similar. Now let's see, what else do you need? Oh! I know." Adriana walked over to another cabinet and pulled out a box full of bones, which she sat on the table in front of Willow and Tara.

Tara picked one up, examining it up close.

Willow stared at them wide-eyed, remembering the skull she'd seen in the foyer. "These aren't…human, are they?"

"Oh yes, they're human."

Tara immediately dropped the bone.

"Oh don't worry," Adriana said. "They're centuries old." Adriana paused for a moment, seeing the expression on their faces, and laughed. "Relax! I'm only kidding! They're animal bones of course."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief, but secretly wondered if she was being honest. The skull in the foyer was still missing the rest of its body, and it looked rather real to her.

Adriana continued to gather several more items, then began making a list of things Willow and Tara would need to gather on their own.

"Now," she said, sitting back down with the items before them. "We go over how to do the spell."


	47. A Step Up

Willow, Tara, and Anya sat around the coffee table while Adriana wrote copious notes detailing the spell.

"It would help if I had photograph," she said, stopping her writing. "It's not necessary, but it helps if I have a visual image of the subject."

"Oh, I have a photo!" Willow dug into her bag and pulled out a photo envelope. "I just had these developed today!"

"Is that why you were taking pictures of Miss Kitty Fantastico this morning?" Tara asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I had to use up the last of the roll." Willow flipped through the photographs until she came across one with Angel. "Here's a good one. That's Buffy and Angel together. We were doing a prom thing. That's why they're dressed up."

"Oh my," Adriana said, examining the photograph. The corner of her lip lifted in a smile. "I can see why your friend needs my help. I'd want to have sex with him too."

"He's attractive, that's for sure." Anya agreed. "Although not as handsome as my Xander."

"We'll also need a lock of his hair. Just a small piece will do."

"Why do you need a lock of hair?" Tara asked.

"It helps to have something personal from the subject, and what's more personal than hair? Now, before you do the spell, it's important to remove the curse he's under now, otherwise the spell won't work. I assume that won't be a problem?"

Willow smiled. "With the way Buffy and Angel have been acting around each other lately? No, definitely not a problem."

"Except he'll be a…what did you call him?" Tara asked Willow.

"A homicidal maniac."

"Right."

"That's okay. Buffy can chain him up."

"And they can play bondage games while they're at it," Anya said, then grew quiet when no one else seemed to understand the reference. "Sorry. Does no one else think that's fun?"

"There's one other thing we need to discuss before we start. Even though we're creating a new curse, there still has to be a loophole, some way for him to revert back to his original form. Now, I know that's not what you want to happen, so think of something that's quite unlikely."

"Well, we definitely don't want the perfect happiness thing," Willow said.

"He likes to help people," Tara offered. "It's pretty doubtful he'll ever stop doing that."

"That's good, but a little vague. He won't be helping people every second of the day. Think of something else."

"He's a man," Anya said. "I'm sure he's thinking of sex every second of the day."

Adriana laughed. "Oh, Anyanka, I think your days of chasing after wayward, cheating boyfriends have left you a bit jaded."

Anya shrugged. "Hey, I'm just saying…I've never known a man who _didn't_ have sex on his mind most of the time. Even Xander."

"Especially Xander!" Willow concurred.

Adriana paused. "What about this? This girl he loves…do you think there's any chance he'll ever stop loving her?"

Willow smiled. "Angel stop loving Buffy? Not likely. He'll love her until the day he dies. Or uh…until he's more dead than he already is. You know what I mean."

"Their love is eternal," Tara said, smiling. "That what Willow means."

"And you're _sure_ of this?"

Willow nodded. "Oh yes, positive. Even when they were broken up, they were still in love with each other. I mean, she's his perfect happiness. That's how much he loves her."

Adriana grinned. "Good. Then I think we have our loophole. The day he stops loving her? It'll be the day he breaks the curse."

* * *

Willow examined her notebook, full of Adriana's notes about how to perform the new restoration spell. "This is amazing. How can we ever thank you for helping us?"

Adriana smiled. "My reward is a positive outcome. Call me and let me know how it goes."

"Oh we will," Willow promised.

"I must warn you though…this is not an easy spell to perform. It takes a great deal of concentration on your part, and any little mistake or mishap could ruin your chances for success."

"What would happen if we messed up?"

"Well, at best, you'd have to start over. At worse, the spell would only partially take, and you'd be stuck with Angelus."

"So you're saying we need to be careful," Tara said.

Adriana nodded. "Yes. Don't rush home and do the spell right away. Take a few days to study it. Familiarize yourself with the incantations until you know it like the back of your hand. And call me if you need any help."

"We will," Willow said.

"Oh, one more thing. Take this." Adriana reached behind her neck, undoing the clasp of her necklace. "It's a love pendant," she explained, handing it to Willow.

Willow took the pendant, admiring the ruby heart surrounded by an intricate design of diamonds. "Oh, this is beautiful. But we can't take this."

"Oh I'm not giving it to you. I'm just letting you borrow it. Give it to Anyanka when you're done. She'll get it back to me."

"What does it do?" Tara asked.

"It has great power, but mostly it brings good luck in matters of love. Not that I think you'll need it, but it can't hurt. One of you should wear it when you do the spell."

"You should wear it, Tara," Willow said, clasping the silver chain around her neck.

Tara touched the heart, examining it closely. "It really is beautiful. We'll take good care of it. Thank you for letting us borrow it."

Adriana smiled. "Anything for true love."

* * *

Willow gazed at the open notebook spread before her while Tara selected items from the shelves. They'd just arrived back to Sunnydale and were both eager to start preparing for the spell.

"What's next on the list?" Tara asked from across the room.

"More stinky herbs."

"You want to elaborate on that one?" Tara asked, smiling.

The bell on the shop's door jingled, and Willow slammed her notebook shut.

"Hey, guys," Buffy said.

"Hey, Buffy."

Buffy walked over to the counter, sitting beside Willow. "I was looking for you two. You've certainly been busy today. Where'd you disappear to for hours?"

Tara shook her head, silently telling Willow to be quiet. She knew Willow was, in her own words, a "terrible liar". And they had both decided it would be best to study the spell first before they told Buffy about it.

"We were meeting with a few girls from our Wicca group," Tara said casually.

Buffy smiled. "Oh that's great. Did any of them have some ideas on how to stop Maleficus?"

Tara nodded. "Yeah, they were a great help. Willow and I are working on a spell now."

"Is that what these stinky herbs are for?" she said, holding up a bag of something that smelled horrible.

"If those things don't drive Maleficus away, what will?" Tara asked, smiling.

"So do you two want come hang with me at the Bronze? Angel's reluctant to go, and I'm itching to dance."

Willow smiled. "Sure, Buffy. That sounds like fun."

"Cool. I'm going to go get ready." Buffy rose from the chair and headed for the door. She stopped in front of Tara on her way out, admiring the heart pendant. "Pretty necklace. Is that new?"

Tara smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."

* * *

Faith stared at the tally marks on the wall of her prison cell. Some poor soul had been in here for ninety-two days. Faith had been here for five days, and already it felt like an eternity. She couldn't imagine being stuck in this joint for ninety-two.

Prison had been quite the experience, and not a good one at that. There was little privacy in the shower. There was no privacy at all when it came to anything else. The food sucked. And the only thing she had to look forward to was her one hour of allotted outdoor time. For that, she was grateful, otherwise she'd go stir crazy. At least for now she didn't have a cellmate to deal with. That might have made things worse.

Faith ran her finger over the tally marks. She thought of what Spike told her, about her being a slayer or whatever. She knew if she really wanted to get out, she could, but something always held her back. For one, she didn't want to make her situation any worse than it already was. And two, she didn't want to live to everyone's expectations. Everyone at the jail and hospital had been so cold to her, wary, just waiting for her to mess up. Why wouldn't they just give her a break?

Besides, if she broke out, where would she go anyway? She knew nothing about herself, nothing about her home life. Didn't even know if she had any family alive. The future was looking bleak at best, and sometimes Faith wished she could close her eyes and drift back into her coma.

At least life was simple when she was unconscious.

The sound of footsteps and keys jangling woke Faith up sometime later, and she turned around to look towards the cell door.

Martha, the female guard with the body of a wrestler, was opening her cell. "Wake up, Lehane."

"Little late for a visit from my lawyer," Faith complained, closing her eyes again. She wanted to go back to sleep.

"You're being released."

Faith's eyes shot open and she sat up. "What? They dropped the charges?"

Martha chuckled. "No, kid. Someone posted your bail. Now get your ass out of bed and come on."

Faith had no clothes of her own, so someone had provided a change of clothes for her. The jeans were a tad too small, and the shirt was hideous, but it was better than the orange jumpsuit. Faith made a mental note to get some new clothes ASAP. Preferably something leather.

It wasn't until Faith was filling out the required paperwork for her release that the thought crossed her mind. _Where the hell was she going to go? _And for that matter, who posted her bail anyway? Certainly not Buffy and her group of friends. They all hated her. Her only consolation was the fact that in her meager personal belongings, there was a debit card with her name on it. That meant she at least had a bank account…somewhere. Hopefully she had some money stashed away.

As Faith made her way to the lobby, unsure of where to go, she suddenly saw a familiar face.

"They're finally letting you out of this joint?" Spike asked, standing up and walking towards her. "Took them long enough."

"Did you—"

"Post your bail? Yeah, I did."

"Spike, you didn't have—"

"It was nothing, really," Spike said with a shrug.

Faith stared at him skeptically. "Nothing, huh? So how did you come up with the money to bail me out?"

Spike grinned. "I have my ways."

"You beat up someone, didn't you?"

"Like I said, I have my ways," Spike said, and left it at that.

* * *

"So…this is it," Spike announced after giving Faith the grand tour of his crypt. "It's not much."

"It's not prison, so believe me, it's a step-up."

"The telly's over there. The reception is sometimes shoddy but if you kick the thing it'll work sometimes. I'm afraid I don't have anything to eat, unless you like pig's blood."

Faith laughed. "I'll be alright, but thanks. Actually, I think I just feel like crashing. Been a long day, you know?"

"You can take my bed. It's not like I sleep at night anyway."

Faith sat down on the bed, realizing that even the mattress was a lot better than the one in prison. "Hey, Spike? Why are you being so nice to me? You visit me in the hospital. You bail me out of jail. Everyone hates me, but you…I don't know. You don't seem to care what I've done. I can't seem to figure you out."

Spike moved across the room and sat down on the bed beside her. "You and I have a lot in common. I suppose it's just nice to find someone I can relate to. I'm not exactly in their fan club either. Why do you care what they think?"

"It's not that I care. I just want to feel, I don't know…accepted. I want to feel like I belong somewhere. But I have no home, no family, no friends, and everyone who looks at me sees me as the person I was before my accident. They wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

"You do?"

"Ever since I got this bloody chip in my head, the vampires around here treat me like an outcast. It's not my fault I can't feed on people anymore. And the Scooby gang looks at me like I've got ulterior motives or something, wary of my every move, like I'm plotting my revenge against them."

"The…_Scooby Gang_?"

"Buffy and company. Honestly, I really don't even care about that anymore. There's nothing I can do to change it."

"Sometimes I wish I hadn't woke up from my coma. Life was pretty nice when it was all dark and quiet. You're the only one that's been nice to me. Why is that, Spike? Why do you care what happens to me?"

Spike shrugged. "Maybe I just wanted to feel accepted too."

* * *

_Buffy laid awake in the dark, staring at the strange shadows around her. She had never realized there were so many rooms in this mansion, although being a mansion, it shouldn't have surprised her, but she'd never explored much past the first floor._

_The window was partially covered, letting a sliver of moonlight cast a line on the wall. She'd left the curtain open on purpose. She didn't want to sleep in total darkness._

_A knock on the door startled her, and she wondered who on earth was knocking on her door in the middle of the night. Buffy grabbed Mr. Pointy from under her pillow and quietly made her way to the door._

_There was a second knock, but Buffy took her time, slowly padding across the room as she eyed the doorknob. With a deep breath, she creaked the door open. _

_The door, as if it had a will of its own, flew out of her hand and opened wide. In the doorway, Maleficus stood before her. _

_He stared at her with his cold, dark eyes, and smiled. "Invite me in, Slayer."_

Buffy sat up in bed, her heart racing. A dream. It had only been a dream, or a nightmare rather. She was getting really tired of those.

She looked around the room as her heart rate returned to normal, seeing the room just as it was when she fell asleep. Grabbing her stake underneath her pillow, Buffy crept out of bed and walked over to the door.

With bated breath, she turned the doorknob and opened it wide. No one was there.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Of course Maleficus wouldn't be there. It was silly to think he would be. He'd need an invite to even get inside this mansion with humans temporarily living here at least. And Willow and Tara had worked hard to put up another protection spell. No one from the outside was getting in.

She was still scared though. The nightmares were becoming more frequent, and there was only one place she felt safe.

Tossing the stake aside, Buffy walked out of her room and down the hallway to Angel's room. The door creaked as she opened and closed it, but if Angel had heard, he didn't appear to be bothered. The fire he had going cast shadows on his sleeping face.

Buffy walked over to get a closer look, and she smiled. She noticed the absence of worry lines when he slept. It made her wish he'd smile more often.

Being careful not to wake him, Buffy pulled down the covers and crawled into bed beside him. She nuzzled close to him, and though Angel didn't stir awake, he wrapped his arms around her anyway. Buffy closed her eyes, finally feeling safe, and was asleep again in no time.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I know this chapter seems all over the place, jumping from Willow/Tara to suddenly Spike/Faith and then Buffy/Angel, but I had a bunch of random scenes that didn't fit anywhere else, and I had to include them now so the story can progress.

I'm so thrilled people loved Adriana! She was a very fun character to write, and delivered one of my favorite lines in this chapter. I'll let you decide which one that was, heh. At this point, I don't have any plans to bring her back, but I could always change my mind if I decide I have a purpose for her. We shall see.

On a completely separate note, is anyone else excited about SMG's possible return to TV? I'm so psyched for her new show! I hope the pilot gets picked up! And as a bonus, I just found out the guy who played Richard Alpert on LOST will be on the show too…yeah! He's cool! (And might I add…yum!)

Until 48! :)


	48. Getting By

Angel smiled at the sight before him. He hadn't remembered Buffy coming to his room last night, but somehow, he'd known she was there.

Her body was warm against him, thawing out the coldness in his. Borrowed warmth. And she smelled like flowers. Angel buried his nose against her neck, breathing her in as he placed his lips over her scar, feeling the warm blood pulse underneath.

"Peanut butter," Buffy suddenly mumbled.

Angel looked at her, thinking she was awake, but her eyes were still closed. She nuzzled closer and threw a possessive arm around him. "Preferably crunchy."

Buffy finally opened her eyes and stared at Angel, surprised to see him staring right back at her.

"Morning," he said, laughter in his voice.

"What? Do I have bedhead?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

"Oh, was I? What was I saying?"

"Something about peanut butter. Do you remember what you were dreaming?"

Buffy thought back to the dream she'd had. She'd been having that one a lot recently, the one with her and Angel eating in bed. And a human Angel at that.

Buffy shook her head, deciding to keep it to herself. "No, not really. I guess I was eating peanut butter." Buffy sat up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "Oh, wow, look at the time. I slept late." Buffy threw the covers off her and padded to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. "Oh my god, I _do_ have bed hair!"

Still in bed, Angel smiled at her. "You're wearing my shirt."

Buffy turned around, looking guilty. "I'm sorry. I didn't have anything to wear last night and I didn't think you'd mind. I haven't done laundry yet."

"No, I don't mind. It looks good on you. In fact, I think it looks better on you than it does me. And I like your bedhead look."

Buffy smiled, turning back to stare at her sleepy, wild-haired reflection in the mirror. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good first thing in the morning."

* * *

Faith opened her eyes, momentarily feeling disoriented when she realized she wasn't sure where she was. It definitely wasn't the hospital, and it didn't look much like her jail cell either. She turned her head and saw Spike staring at her, and smiled. Right, she was at Spike's.

"Morning," Spike said. "Or almost afternoon."

"Hey." Faith held her arms above her head and stretched, yawning in the process.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving. But I'll pass on the pig's blood," she added with a laugh.

"Well I have donuts." Spike reached for the table by the bed and picked up a box.

Faith, now wide awake, sat up and eagerly took the box. "I love donuts!"

Spike smiled. "You remember eating donuts?"

Faith opened the box and eyed the selection, picking out the Boston cream. "My brain doesn't, but my taste buds do. Thanks."

"I thought you might be hungry." Spike watched as she nearly inhaled the donut.

"Where'd you get these anyway?" she mumbled with a full mouth.

"From the display case at the donut shop."

"In broad daylight?"

"No. I broke in before they opened."

"You stole these?"

Spike waved his hand dismissively. "They're a day old. They would have been thrown out anyway."

"Well, day old or not, still good." Faith reached into the box for another one. "You can't just have one," she explained. "Hey, what time is it anyway?"

"Quarter to twelve."

"Oh wow. Way past bedtime for you, huh? I guess you'll be wanting your bed back soon."

Spike shrugged.

"Or you know, it is a pretty big bed. Plenty of room for you to crash if you want. I don't bite." Faith smiled. "Not that you'd be worried about that anyway."

Spike walked over to the other side of the bed and laid down. It felt good to stretch his legs and lay his head back.

"As good as these are, I better stop." Faith closed the donut box and placed it back on the table, then licked the icing off her fingers. "But I have to say…sure beats hospital food and that gruel they serve at the prison."

Faith laid back down, placing her hands behind her head. "You know what? I think this is the first time I've been able to actually sleep in since my coma. In the hospital, you can't get any sleep. And in jail, it's pretty hard to sleep there too. You know? Spike?" Faith turned her head, seeing that Spike was already asleep.

"Thanks, Spike," she whispered.

* * *

"I found candles," Willow announced as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. "Which wasn't really hard to find around here," she added.

Tara walked around the room, running her fingers along the antique furniture. "Angel's mansion is so…I don't know how to describe it. I feel like I'm in a movie or something. This place is so big and there's so much to explore. It's not creepy or anything. It's….I don't know, like an adventure."

Willow smiled at Tara as she went about lighting the candles.

"Hey, I have a question."

Willow sat down on the floor in the circle of candles. "What's that?"

"How does Angel do it?"

"Do…what?"

Tara joined Willow in the circle. "How does integrate himself into society? I mean, he's not human, so technically, he doesn't exist. In the eyes of the law anyway. He has no social security number, no valid driver's license. He doesn't pay taxes. How does he pay bills or rent property? I know vampires really don't need anything other than blood to survive, but they need money on occasion too. How does Angel do it?"

Willow smiled. "Honestly? Nobody really knows. I tried asking him one time and he was all vague. He just smiled and said he 'gets by'."

"What kind of non-answer is that?"

"Personally, I think he's got some secret stash of money hidden away that he doesn't tell anyone about. I mean, how else could he afford this place? It's not like his P.I. business could be that successful!"

Tara reached for a bag and took out several amulets, spreading them out on the floor. "True. Hey, when do you think we'll be ready to tell Angel and Buffy?"

"I think we should practice for a few more days. I just want to make sure we really know how to do it. We can't chance anything to go wrong."

"It'll be so exciting when we can tell them."

"I know. Ready?"

Tara nodded and reached for Willow's hands.

Willow cleared her throat and began to chant with Tara chanting along. _"Quod perditum est, invenietur. Not dead...nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum, we call."_

A knock on the door interrupted them. "Willow?" Buffy called out from the other side of the door.

"Come in."

Buffy opened the door and poked her head inside. "Hey. Can I borrow your shampoo? I'm all out and Cordelia seems reluctant to share her high-priced salon stuff."

"Sure. It's in the shower." Willow pointed to the adjoining bathroom.

"Thanks." Buffy walked over to the bathroom and came out a few seconds later. She paused at the door and turned around. "What are you two doing?"

"Just practicing some spells," Willow replied, smiling.

* * *

Faith stared at the pointy-nosed teller, and wondered if anyone in this place could be more of a bitch.

"What part of 'I was in a coma and have memory loss' don't you understand? My license is right here! Can't you just trust I am who I say I am?"

"And I'm supposed to trust this ID isn't fake? If you can't answer your security questions, then I can't help you. I can't just give out a pin number!"

"How am I supposed to know my secret 'security questions' if I can't remember anything?"

A tall man came out from the back, apparently to see what all the commotion was up at the front.

"I'll handle this, Maureen," he said.

The teller gave Faith a smug look before walking away.

"So look, I was telling Miss Panties-in-a-wad that I have a little memory loss and I can't remember my pin number. That's sort of what happens sometimes when you have _brain trauma." _Faith looked at Maureen across the room. "This is the only ID I have." Faith pushed her license across the counter.

"I don't need to see that. I'm well aware of who you are."

"Oh. Okay, well good. Except let me guess, you read all about me in the paper or saw my picture plastered all over the news, huh?"

"On the contrary. I remember you from when you came here last time."

"Well you'll have to help me out…" Faith glanced at his nametag. "Ivan. Because I don't remember squat."

"Richard Wilkins was a dear friend of mine. It's a shame what happened to him. But he requested I set up this account for you. He wanted to make sure you were well taken care of."

Faith stared at him blankly.

"Right. You don't remember. Well, perhaps you will in time. You know, he talked about you a lot. Said you were like the daughter he never had but always wanted."

"Look, not that I don't like going down this memory lane with you, but I don't remember that guy. And I really need to make a withdrawal. I have money in my account, right?"

"Of course." Ivan scribbled a number on a slip of paper and passed it to her. "This is your pin number."

"Five, five, twenty-five," she said, reading the numbers. "Lot of fives."

"We can change the number if you prefer."

"No, that's okay. Easy to remember. Five times five, right?"

"So how much did you want to withdraw?"

"How much money do I have?"

Ivan clicked around on his computer and printed out a balance slip.

Faith took the receipt and made a low whistle. "Whoa. Wasn't expecting that much."

"Richard wanted to make sure you had everything you needed."

"Wow….thanks, Pops." Faith looked back at Ivan at smiled. "Looks like I'll be making a bigger withdrawal than I thought."

* * *

With some cash in her pocket, Faith decided a little shopping was in order. A new wardrobe was needed, especially since her clothing of the past couple of weeks had consisted of hospital gowns and orange jump suits.

Over on the rack by the window, several black leather jackets caught her eye. Faith browsed through the jackets, finding what she supposed was her size. She took the leather jacket off the hanger and put it on. She moved aside and stared at herself in the mirror. Not only was it a perfect fit, but it looked good too.

In the mirror, Faith saw one of the sales people making her way over to her.

"Can I help you?" the saleslady asked.

Faith turned around, smiling. "Yeah. How much for this jacket?"

* * *

As much as Faith appreciated Spike's hospitality, she couldn't stay in his crypt forever. She could understand why he liked it, being a vampire and all, but she preferred to have a little more of life's luxuries. Like electricity and decent plumbing. She'd never take a toilet for granted again.

The closest place she could find that seemed to rent rooms real cheap, and long term, was some motel on Route 5. Faith debated on whether staying here or choosing a hotel that was nicer. In the end, she decided she'd have a roof over her head much longer if she stayed at the cheaper place. Her money would last a little longer too.

In the lobby behind the counter, an old man was watching a game show on his portable television. Faith cleared her throat, hoping to get his attention.

The man turned toward Faith, giving her a toothless smile. "Faith, is that you?"

_He knows me?_ "Uh…yeah, it's me…" Faith looked at his name tag. "Ronnie."

"Haven't seen you here in a long time."

"Yeah, it's been a while." Faith felt relieved. Apparently, she'd been here before, and this Ronnie guy wasn't giving her hell.

"You want your usual room back?"

"Sure."

"How long you staying?"

Faith shrugged. "I don't know. A while I guess."

A few minutes later, Faith opened the door to her room.

"Home, sweet home," she said to herself, throwing her duffle and shopping bags on the floor.

The room was okay, albeit a little musty. And the bed wasn't half bad, for a motel anyway. Faith suddenly felt tired, feeling an afternoon nap coming on. She laid down on her side, holding the other pillow as she curled her legs up to her stomach, and fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: I know this was mostly a Faith-centric chapter, but there was a lot going on with her character that I had to address. And I had to find a way for Faith to support herself financially. I mean, she had to have a bank account _somewhere_, and who better to provide her with some money than Richard himself? Not that she can remember him anyway, which is actually a good thing I think.

As for the beginning Buffy/Angel scene…there was really no point to that. I just like writing them happy together. :)

Until 49! :)


	49. Made To Do This

"Hey you guys, check this out!" Cordelia announced, walking into the Magic Box with a flyer in hand.

"What's that?" Willow asked.

"A flyer for the Bronze. There's live music tonight. Anyone game?"

Buffy grabbed the flyer. "Ooo, I love these guys! Count me in."

"Me too," Willow said, then turned to Tara. "You want to go too, right?"

Tara shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Buffy stood up and grabbed her bag. "Well, I think I'll go get ready and try to convince Angel to come too. Xander, Anya, you going?"

"Sorry kids, but it's laundry night."

Buffy stared at Xander in disbelief. "Laundry night? How boring."

"Oh it's not that boring," Anya said. "Whenever Xander's mom makes him do the laundry, we make it interesting. We have sex on top of the machines."

Buffy's jaw dropped.

"It's really quite thrilling, especially during the spin cycle. You know, with all the vibrations and—"

Xander pulled Anya aside, talking to her softly. "An, remember when we discussed keeping the details of our sex life private?"

"Well I just wanted Buffy to understand that our evening is going to be anything but boring!"

* * *

When Buffy arrived back at the mansion, she found Angel on the couch reading a book, as usual.

"Hi," Buffy said as she ran across the room and hopped on the couch beside him. She took the book out of his hands and made her way into his arms, kissing him.

Angel laughed against her lips. "Either you've got good news or you're really happy to see me."

Buffy smiled. "Both."

Angel studied her expression for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on. "There's an imminent apocalypse and you're…happy?"

"Guess who's playing at the Bronze tonight?"

"I'm terrible at guessing games."

"Well, it doesn't really matter. It's a band you don't know anyway, but they're pretty good. So…"

"So…"

"Wanna come with? Willow, Tara, and Cordelia are going too."

Angel seemed to hesitate.

"Please?"

Angel groaned.

"Please?" Buffy maneuvered herself into Angel's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Come on, it's one of my favorite bands, and it'd be more fun if my boyfriend came along too."

Angel held Buffy a little tighter. "I thought we could go for a patrol and then have a nice, quiet evening here. And you know how crowded the Bronze is on nights they have a band…"

"That never stopped you from going before."

"I went before because I was always hoping to see you."

"I want you to come, Angel," Buffy begged again, a little pout in her lip. "You don't even have to dance. You could just…you know, watch _me_ dance."

"You're going to keep begging me until I say yes, aren't you?"

Buffy nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Alright, fine. I'll go with you to the Bronze."

"Yay!" Buffy gave him a smacking kiss and hopped off his lap. "I'm going to get ready."

"But the Bronze doesn't open until…" Angel looked at his watch. "It's still early."

"I know. I should be ready by then."

Angel laughed softly, then returned to his book.

* * *

It had been Spike's idea to go for a patrol. Faith didn't want to admit it, but the thought made her a little nervous. Other than Spike, she'd never seen a real vampire. Well, she _had_, but not that she could remember.

As it turned out, slaying had been the one thing from her past she hadn't forgotten at all. She may have not had the knowledge of vampires, but her instincts were right on. Fighting was like second nature.

"And another one dust!" Faith said triumphantly as she killed her fifth vampire for the night. "Man, this is such a rush! It's like I was made to do this or something."

"You were."

"I guess I was, huh? A vampire-killing machine. Well, except for you, of course. You're different. But all those other vamps here in Sunnyhell? Look out!"

"I should probably tell you. There's one other vampire that's off limits. I mean, not that I bloody care what happens to him, but you'd really piss the other slayer off."

"Why would Buffy care?"

"Because he's…_her soul mate_."

Faith laughed out loud. "What? You mean little miss high and mighty is dating a vampire? What, does he have a chip like you or something?"

"No, worse. He has a soul. He has _feelings._ They walk around here like sick puppies in heat all the time."

"Ugh, gag me. What's his name?"

"Angel."

"Oh, so _that's_ who Angel is! You're right, she would be pissed. Buffy already told me to stay away from him. What kind of girly name is Angel anyway?" Faith's stomach suddenly growled, shifting her attention from Angel to food. "Oh man. Did you hear that?"

Spike grinned. "I have superior hearing. I could have heard that from a mile away, luv."

"Is there any place around here where I can grab a bite to eat?"

"I suppose the Bronze is popular. They don't have much in the way of food there, but they do serve up a mean plate of spicy buffalo wings."

Faith looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "So your diet's _not _strictly pig's blood."

Spike grinned. "Well I can't taste it. Can't taste any human food actually. But I like the way the spice burns my mouth."

"Cool, let's go. Wings sound good, and I'm suddenly _starving. _I think slaying makes me hungry."

* * *

"There's a table!" Willow pointed, running to claim it before anyone else did.

There was a packed crowd at the Bronze by the time they arrived, and the band was already on stage playing.

Angel took an empty chair from another table and pulled it to theirs.

"Thanks for coming with us tonight," Buffy said as he sat down beside her.

"Well you're much better company than Wesley."

"Oh my god," Cordelia said.

Angel looked up at her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing. There's a really cute guy at two o'clock. See you guys, later!"

Cordelia got up from her seat and made her way over to his table. "Hi there," she said, giving him a dashing smile. "I'm Cordelia."

The man, surprised, looked up from his drink and smiled back at her. "Well hello, _Cordelia_. I'm Sean."

"Hi, Sean. I just thought you should know that I think you're pretty hot. So, you want to buy me a drink?"

"How does she do that?" Tara asked, watching Cordelia sit down at the cute guy's table. "Just go up to a person and say, 'Hey, you're hot? Want to date me?'"

Willow laughed. "Cordelia's always been very forward person. Does anybody want a drink?"

"I'll have a soda," Tara said.

"Me too," Buffy said.

"Nothing for me, thanks," Angel said, shaking his head.

"Alright. Be back in a minute."

The band started playing a different song, and Buffy jumped up. "Ooo, I love this song! I have to dance." She gave Angel a peck on the cheek then rushed off to the dance floor.

Angel and Tara watched as Buffy pushed herself into the crowd, then stared at each other, realizing they were the only ones left at the table.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Tara said, breaking the silence.

"Me neither."

Tara bobbed her head in time with the beat. "Good music though."

"A little loud perhaps but—well this should be interesting."

"What?" Tara followed Angel's gaze across the room. "Oh, Spike's here. Haven't seen him in a while. And he's with someone."

"It's Faith."

"Faith? That's _her? _I thought she was in jail."

"I guess she's out."

Willow was standing at the bar when she heard a familiar voice. She looked to her right, seeing Spike nearby.

"Spike."

"Red."

"Hey, if you want, I'll grab us a table and—" Faith stopped mid-sentence, seeing the girl she recognized from the hospital.

"Faith. I thought you were in jail."

"I was. Now I'm not."

"Oh. So uh, how are you? You were in the hospital for a long time. Are you doing…okay?"

Faith stared at her for a moment, surprised she'd asked her that. "I'm fine…I guess."

"That's good."

The man behind the counter handed Willow her drinks. "Well, I'll see you guys later."

Faith watched as she walked away. "Who was that girl?"

"That was Willow. Looks like Buffy and company are here tonight."

"She came to see me when I was in the hospital. She wasn't as nice as she was just then."

"Willow's Buffy's best friend. If you mess with Buffy, you have to deal with her. And you don't want to deal with her. She's a witch."

Faith looked at Spike and raised an eyebrow. "A _witch_? What, does she wiggle her nose and make people disappear?"

"No. She speaks Latin and turn people into toads."

Faith continued to stare at him skeptically.

"Okay, Willow's never turned anyone into a toad, not that I know of anyway. But she probably could."

"So you're serious? She's an actual…_witch_? With magic powers and everything?"

Spike smiled at her. "You believe in vampires and slayers, but you don't believe in witches?"

"Well I guess I do now. Man, this town is wicked cool! It's like I woke up from my coma and ended up in another world."

Willow came back to the table and placed the drinks down. "You guys, don't look now, but Faith is here. With Spike."

"We know," Tara said.

"I'm going to go talk to her," Angel said, standing up from his chair.

Willow looked at Tara, and she shrugged.

"Spike, I'm going to grab us a table while you wait."

"Oh bloody hell."

"What?"

"Angel's coming over here."

Faith followed Spike's gaze, seeing a dark-haired man, or vampire, she now knew, walking towards them. "That's Angel?"

"The one and only."

"I've seen him before. He came to visit me at the hospital. He never told me his name though."

"Spike," Angel said as a way of greeting.

"What the bloody hell do you want?"

"I just want to talk to Faith."

Spike turned to Faith, who nodded. "It's okay," she said. "I'll talk to him."

Faith sat down at an empty table nearby. "Look, I didn't break out of jail if that's what you're thinking."

"That's not what I was thinking." Angel pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. "I was just wondering if you thought about what we talked about before."

"Yeah, I thought about it."

"And?"

"Look, I'm sorry for what I did to you, okay? I don't know how many times I can apologize. But do you know how weird it is to keep apologizing for things you don't even remember doing? You said I could start over with a clean slate, and I want to do that. But it's kind of hard when people keep shutting you out."

Faith glanced across the room, spotting Buffy out on the dance floor. "You probably shouldn't be sitting here talking to me. I don't think your girl would like it too much. I distinctly remember her telling me to stay away from you."

"Buffy's going through a hard time right now. What she said to you was said in anger."

"Tell me something. Did we really used to be good friends? Me and Buffy?"

"You had your differences, but yes, you were friends."

"Well I guess I can't blame her for being mad at me. I'd probably be pissed too if someone tried to kill my boyfriend."

"Faith, I believe you can change, that you can be a better person. If that's what you want. But Buffy might need a little more convincing."

"Look, I'll just stay out of her way, okay? That's what she wants anyway."

Angel looked toward Spike, seeing him make his way to the table.

"You should be careful around Spike."

"Why?"

"Because he's a bad influence."

"He's been nice to me."

"Yeah, he's playing the nice guy for now, but if that chip in his brain ever malfunctions, he won't be such a nice guy anymore."

"I'm not scared of him."

"Are you spreading lies about me?" Spike said, overhearing their conversation.

Angel rose from the table, staring Spike down. "Just telling her the truth about you. About the _real _you. You and I both know that chip in your head is the only thing from having you completely lose control."

"Sod off."

Angel grinned, feeling he made his point. "Just watch him," he said to Faith, then walked away.

"What was that about?" Faith asked.

Spike sat down at the table, placing the plate of wings before them. "We're sort of like family, Angel and I. You know how family never gets along."

Angel returned to his table with Willow and Tara waiting expectantly.

"What'd you say to her?" Willow asked.

"I just wanted to see what she was up to."

"And?" Tara asked.

"I don't think she's here to cause trouble."

At a table nearby, a waitress handed Cordelia a drink. Cordelia smiled, thanking the waitress, then turned her attention back to Sean. "So you're a film studies major? That's very cool! At UC Sunnydale?"

"Actually, no, at UCLA. I'm just here because my kid brother goes to school here. You see that dorky-looking boy on the dance floor over there?"

Cordelia looked to where Sean was pointing. "The one with the red shirt?"

"Yeah, that's him. I try to keep an eye on him."

"So, back to you…what do you want to do eventually? Write? Direct?"

"Probably a little of both."

"You know, I've actually done a little acting myself. If you're ever looking for a sexy brunette to play a role in one of your films…"

"I'll look you up. You definitely have a face that belongs on the big screen."

Cordelia giggled, touching his arm.

"You know, actually, I have this friend who's working on an independent…"

As she listened to Sean talk, Cordelia felt a familiar twitch above her left eyebrow.

"…and it's a film about this woman who—"

"No, not now," Cordelia muttered.

"What?" Sean asked, giving her a confused look.

"I'm sorry! I'm listening. I'm just—I'm getting a—oh god!" Cordelia held her forehead as the twitch turned into a blinding pain, stabbing her between the eyes. The drink in her hand crashed to the floor, sending cola and glass shards everywhere.

Sean stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to make of this. "Are you…_okay_?"

Cordelia looked up at Sean, rubbing her forehead. "I get these…migraines."

"You look really pale. Do you need to go home?"

"You need to leave."

"What?"

"You need to get your brother and get out of here!"

"What? _Why_?"

"Because something bad is about to happen. I just…I have a bad feeling."

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like my Grandma Sophia. Are you being serious?"

"I'm not joking! This is for real. You need to leave! Now!"

"Why?"

The sound of glass breaking filled the room, and the crowd watched as the Bronze's bouncer was thrown through the window. The band stopped playing, and everyone was silent for a very brief moment until a group of vampires charged the club, and all hell broke loose.

"That's why!" Cordelia said, yelling over the screaming.

"Oh course," Buffy complained as a stampede of teenagers made a beeline to the back door. "Just when I was having a good time."

Buffy pushed her way through the crowd as she headed in the opposite direction. She climbed onto a nearby pool table to avoid being trampled, and grabbed a cue stick. She snapped the wood in half to create a sharper point. "When without a stake, improvise," she said to herself. Two seconds later, a vampire jumped onto the table, and Buffy got the opportunity to use it.

"Looks like things just got interesting," Faith said to Spike, smiling. "You take those vamps over there. And that big burly one? He's all mine."

"I think I'd like to see that," Spike said, watching her charge towards the vamp.

Angel, spotting a young girl in trouble, ran toward the vampire and staked him from behind.

"Run!" he told the frightened girl, who nodded and took off.

"Aren't you coming?" Sean asked, waiting for Cordelia to move.

Cordelia glanced at Angel, watching him fight another vampire, then turned back to Sean. "You go! I need to stay!"

Sean looked at her, wide-eyed. "You're crazy!" he said, then turned around and ran out the door.

Cordelia shrugged, then grabbed a wooden chair for protection. "I just _had_ to come here tonight." Moments later, a vampire charged towards her, and Cordelia gave him a good whack.

The vampire, apparently feeling no pain whatsoever, grabbed the chair from Cordelia and threw it across the room.

"Oh god. That really pissed you off, didn't it?" Cordelia said nervously.

"Hey! Pick on somebody your own size, you stupid vamp!" Willow shouted, grabbing another chair and hitting the vampire.

The vampire looked away from Cordelia and turned to Willow, fury in his eyes.

Once distracted, a levitating stake flew into his chest. He was dust seconds later.

Willow whipped around, seeing Tara standing by the table, grinning. "Good one, Tara!"

"Thanks! I've been working on that spell!"

Spike, in full game face, made his way over to another vampire, who had apparently just fed outside.

"Hope you enjoyed your last meal!" Spike slammed the vampire against the wall and drove a stake through his chest.

Buffy hadn't even had the chance to move from her spot before another vampire jumped on the pool table, prepared to fight her. She'd already lost count of how many vamps she'd slayed but it had to be at least four.

"You picked a _really _bad night to come here with your buddies," Buffy said to the vampire she was fighting. "You figured a big crowd would be here tonight, huh? Lots of innocent teenagers to kill. Bet you weren't counting on one of those teenagers to be me!"

"Actually, Maleficus said you'd be here. He also said to kill you."

Buffy paused for a moment, the haunting image of her nightmare flashing through her mind.

"_Kill her. And make it slow and painful. I want to watch her suffer."_

A sudden, stabbing pain brought Buffy back to attention, and she looked down in horror, seeing the cue stick lodged into her side. She hadn't even remembered him taking it from her.

"Killed with your own weapon," the vampire said, sneering. "What undoubtedly cruel luck."

"Hey, vamp?"

The vampire turned his head, and the heel of Faith's boot hit him square in the face, knocking him off the table. Faith jumped down, landing on top of him, and continued the fight.

Buffy sank down on the table, suddenly feeling weak and dizzy. If she hadn't been in so much pain, she'd question how Faith was out of jail, or why she was helping her in the first place. But all she could think about was the burning in her side. She winced as she yanked out the stick and placed her hand over the wound. Her shirt was already soaked with blood.

The vampire who'd stabbed her yelled in pain, and seconds later, Faith turned him to dust.

"Buffy."

Buffy looked up from her shirt, seeing Faith standing by the table with an outstretched hand.

"Are you okay?"

Buffy stared at Faith for a moment, then found her voice. "I'm not sure."

"Come on."

Buffy hesitated for a moment more, then finally took Faith's hand and carefully got down from the table.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I don't know. I guess I just want to prove to you that I'm not this awful person you make me out to me. Maybe I was before, but I don't want to be that person anymore."

"Well, all the same, thank you."

Faith shrugged. "It was nothing, really. I sort of like taking out my frustrations on vamps."

"I guess that hasn't changed about you."

Faith pointed to her side. "That looks really bad." Faith looked around the room, spotting a towel forgotten by the waitress on one of the tables. She grabbed it and thrust it in her hand. "Here, put this over it to stop the bleeding."

"Thanks."

"Buffy!"

Buffy looked up, seeing Angel running to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I think I know what a shish kebab feels like now," she replied, wincing as the pain was getting worse. "Faith helped me."

Angel put his arm around her, helping support her, then turned to Faith. "Thank you."

"No problem." She then looked around the room, seeing the place cleared out for the most part, save for the ones who'd been fighting. "Looks like we got them all."

The front door flew open, bringing a whoosh of air into the building, and everyone paused to stare at the figure standing in the doorway.

He looked the same to Buffy. Same dark clothes. Same cold, dark eyes.

"Angel," she whispered, so softly that Buffy herself wondered if she had actually made any sound at all.

Angel tightened his grip on her, feeling her tremble beside him. There wasn't a doubt in his mind. It was Maleficus who stood in the doorway.

"Apparently we have some fighters among us," Maleficus said as he walked inside, surveying the damage. "Your efforts are futile, of course."

From the corner of the room, Willow and Tara started to chant softly, hands joined.

He scanned the faces in the room, grinning when his eyes fell upon Buffy. "Hello, Slayer. It's been a while. Was it you who ordered this massacre of my men?"

Buffy was uncharacteristically silent.

He moved closer to her, baring his fangs as he grinned. "No 'hello' or 'nice to see you again'?" Maleficus laughed. "You had to know I'd come back for you. You were supposed to die that night in the cemetery, and yet, here you are, still walking the earth. But you know what they say. If you want something done, you must do it yourself. And apparently, my minions are no match for you. So I suppose I'll just have to kill you myself."

The voices of Willow and Tara grew louder, chanting as if in a trancelike state. Maleficus turned around, wondering what the chatter was about.

In the past couple of weeks, the girls had worked on making their protection spell stronger, and tonight, it was finally put to good use. Their combined powers brought forth a brilliant shield of light, and it flowed from their outstretched hands to Maleficus.

The vampire was stunned for a moment, watching as the light circled around him like a ribbon and finally, encased him within.

"What is the meaning of this?" Maleficus demanded, realizing he could not penetrate the shield. "You are fools if you think you can outpower me!"

Faith stared at Maleficus, watching as the great vampire struggled to free himself from his temporary prison. "What the hell—"

"No time for questions now," Angel said, scooping Buffy into his arms. "We all need to get the hell out of here!"

* * *

A/N: Sigh…I love how Angel gets all protective at the end there with Buffy. ;)

So yay, I'm back! I hope I didn't lose any readers while my muse was apparently on hiatus. She was no help at all with this chapter and hence, the reason for the long delay in posting. :( Sorry about that. Plus, fight scenes, especially ones with multiple characters, are probably the hardest for me to write, and there was definitely a lot going on at the same time. Would have been even more characters had Anya and Xander been there. See how I cleverly wrote them out of it? LOL. Seriously, I love Xander and Anya, but the whole group doesn't need to be at the Bronze.

We're definitely making some progress in regards to healing Buffy and Faith's relationship. More on that in the next chapter.

And yes, an appearance by Maleficus! Although it really wasn't much of one with Willow and Tara locking him in the shield so quickly, hehe. You can count on seeing him again though…

Well, thanks for reading! Updates should be back to normal for a while now, maybe quicker, as during my writer's block, I took the opportunity to work on the next several chapters after this one. :)

Until 50!


	50. Five By Five

"Ow."

"Sorry," Angel apologized, then continued cleaning the wound on Buffy's abdomen.

"Is it bad?" Buffy asked. "'Cause I _really_ don't want to go to the hospital…_again._"

"I think you should," said Giles, his voice full of concern.

"I have to agree with Giles," Angel said, "but I know you're going to fight me," he added before Buffy could protest. "Fortunately I don't think the wound is too deep."

"Well that's good. So no major organs kebabed?"

"No. Just looks worse than it is. Giles, could you hand me that gauze?"

Giles reached into the first aid kit, handing him the gauze.

Giles' apartment had been the closest place to seek refuge, and the group poured in, surprising Giles who had just settled in for the evening.

"You should probably keep this covered until it heals," Angel told Buffy as he placed the gauze over the wound. "Of course, that goes without saying."

"So these vampires…were they the warrior vampires?" Giles asked.

"Some of the were," Buffy replied. "The others just looked like they were along for the ride."

"And how many?"

"Fifteen? Maybe a few more?" Willow said.

"Why so many?" Tara asked. "That seemed a little odd."

"Large crowd, late at night," Buffy said. "Easy pickings."

"They were after Buffy," Angel said, turning to Giles. "Apparently Maleficus knew she would be there and sent them after her."

"And what happened after Maleficus showed up?"

"Tara and I put up a protection shield," Willow answered. "It bought us enough time to get out of there."

"And luckily his vamp buddies were dust already," Buffy added.

"I'm glad you all made it out of there."

"It was so surreal seeing him again," Buffy said, pulling her shirt down over the gauze. "I've seen him so many times in my nightmares. And now to see him again. It's like a living nightmare."

"Hey, I just thought of something," Cordelia said, speaking up. "What about Faith?"

"What about her?" Angel asked.

"Could Maleficus have been after her as well? I mean, she's a slayer too."

Angel shook his head. "I think he was only after Buffy. It's possible he doesn't know about Faith."

Buffy looked to Cordelia. "Yeah, for all he knows, he still thinks there's one girl in all the world. And that girl is me."

"Where is Faith?" Giles asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Don't know. She and Spike took off."

* * *

"Man, that was wild!" Faith said as she collapsed on her bed.

Spike laughed, sitting down in a chair. "It's what I've been trying to tell you, luv."

Faith sat up, her eyes wide. "Did you see that one vamp who tried to surprise me from behind?"

"I did. The only one that was surprised was him."

"That was awesome! Hey, who was that freaky vamp at the Bronze? The one who made an entrance at the end there? He didn't look like the other vampires I've seen. With his face, I mean."

"Well, the Scooby Gang doesn't exactly keep me in the loop, but from what I hear in the vampire community, that was Maleficus."

"Maleficus? What's his deal?"

"Oh, some big bad from Europe. He's big on mind-control spells and vanishing acts. The appearance thing is just a vanity spell. He's after Buffy."

"Why?"

"Why else? She's the Slayer."

"What about me? I'm a slayer too."

"It's doubtful he's after you too, luv. You've been MIA for a while. Sunnydale is Buffy's territory. If he's going to go after any slayer, it's going to be her." Spike suddenly rose from the chair. "I should go. Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'd be cool. Hey, Spike?"

Spike paused at the door and turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for tonight. I had fun."

Spike just smiled, then left.

Faith then collapsed on the bed, suddenly exhausted from all of the excitement.

* * *

"You okay?" Angel asked when Buffy walked out of the bathroom.

Buffy nodded, climbing into Angel's bed. "Yeah, just tired."

"Does it still hurt?" he asked, indicating her side.

"Just a little, but not as bad as before."

Angel turned off the lamp and joined Buffy in bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, being mindful of her injury. "I was so worried about you tonight. I was across the room when I…"

"When you what?" Buffy asked when Angel stopped talking.

"When I smelled your blood."

"I don't know what happened. He mentioned Maleficus and I just froze. And before I knew it, he stabbed me. I can't believe I lost control like that. I hardly ever lose control in a fight. This might sound crazy, but I'm glad Faith was there when she was."

"Yeah, she really came through tonight."

"I feel terrible. I was wrong about her. The old Faith wouldn't have helped me like that. Even Spike had his moments. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think we could use their help."

Angel nodded. "I think you're right."

Buffy turned to Angel, making out his dim form in the dark. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Angel, Maleficus came after me again tonight. If Willow and Tara hadn't been there to put up that shield…" Buffy trailed off, unable to finish the thought. "He'll come after me again. And he's going to want to kill me."

"Well I'm not going to let that happen," Angel promised, kissing her forehead.

* * *

The next morning, Willow browsed the books on the shelf at the Magic Box. She'd had an idea for a spell in the middle of the night, and she knew she could find it in one of these books.

"Here it is!" Willow grabbed the thick, red volume, and flipped to the index page.

"What are looking for?" Tara asked.

Willow turned to a page in the middle, scanned the text, and smiled. "I don't know why we didn't think of this before." Willow showed the page to Tara. "A cloaking spell!"

"For what?"

"For Buffy! If Maleficus can use one to hide from everyone, why not Buffy too? Obviously Maleficus and his goons are watching her, but it'll be pretty hard for them to do that if they can't find her."

"Willow, that's a brilliant idea!"

"We just need an object. Any object will do, but something that Buffy can easily carry with her at all times."

"I've got just the thing," Tara said with a smile.

* * *

"A cloaking spell? Is that like…an invisibility spell?" Buffy asked.

"No, not exactly," Willow said, shaking her head. "It's more like hiding in plain sight. A cloaking spell will prevent Maleficus from tracking you magically, which he's probably already been doing. I mean, think about all of the coordinated attacks. There was your initial attack at the cemetery. Then the raid at the house with the Lei-achs. Last night was the Bronze. Who's to say he won't target the mansion next? Or even here, at the magic shop…at this very moment."

"It's broad daylight, Will," Xander remarked.

"Well I know that! But not all demons are allergic to the sun!"

"Willow might be right," Giles said, taking his handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe down his glasses. "It's quite possible Maleficus has been watching us the whole time."

"Do you really think this cloaking spell will work?" Buffy asked.

"It works for Maleficus," Tara said. "We still haven't been able to pinpoint his location, except for when he's actually in front of us, that is."

"How exactly would this cloaking spell work?" Angel asked.

"Simple." Willow held up a silver ring with a ruby gem. "Buffy wears this."

Buffy took the ring, placing it on her middle finger next to her Claddagh ring.

"Does it fit?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, it fits just fine. It's pretty. So, if I wear this ring, Maleficus shouldn't be able to find me?"

"Not unless he stumbles across you in passing," Tara answered.

"What's this ring's power source?" Angel asked, a little skeptical.

Willow smiled at Tara, then turned to Angel "Us."

"We infused it with our own magic," Tara explained. "The ring by itself is powerless, but any object can be used in a cloaking spell. We just figured a ring would be the easiest one for Buffy to carry around."

Buffy smiled. "Thanks, you guys."

Willow smiled back at her. "Anytime."

Buffy cleared her throat. "Speaking of Maleficus, there's something I wanted to talk to you all about. I did a little thinking last night, and I think we should ask Spike and Faith to help us."

"You want Faith and Spike to _help us_?" Xander asked, the first to speak.

"Yes."

Xander shook his head. "I don't know, Buff. Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"If Faith was up to something, she would have made a move by now. Look, you weren't there last night. The situation would have been a lot more out of control had she and Spike not been there to help. And Faith didn't have to help me, but she did."

"I've talked to Faith," Angel added. "She feels sorry for what she's done, and she wants to change. I think we should all give her a chance."

Xander looked to Buffy. "I'm glad she helped you, but I think when it comes to Faith, we should be cautious."

"I know. And I'm sure it'll be a while before any of us can completely trust her again. I'm just saying that it's time we stop being so angry and see if we can work together. She _is_ a slayer, and if she's willing to fight with us, we could use her help."

"Another person fighting would be beneficial," Giles said, agreeing.

Buffy smiled at Giles, glad to have him on her side, then turned to Willow and Xander. "I've been thinking a lot about Faith and what happened to her last year. About why she turned on us. She's a troubled girl—"

"That's an understatement," Xander muttered.

Buffy glared at Xander, then continued. "She came from a broken home. She dropped out of high school. She didn't have any real friends. And then she met us. For a while there, I was even a little jealous of her. She was the cool, new girl, and I was sure you guys thought she was more fun than me."

"We never thought that, Buffy," Willow said.

"I know. Look, the point I'm trying to make is that we _were_ friends with Faith. I don't know when it happened, but somewhere along the line, she started to feel like she didn't fit in. If we keep pushing Faith away, she could just as easily slip over to the dark side again."

"She's hanging out with Spike," Xander said. "She's halfway there, Buff."

"Spike is harmless, at least compared to the likes of the mayor. And if she keeps Spike occupied and out of our hair, than all the better." Buffy stared at Willow and Xander, then glanced briefly at Giles. "I need to know I have your support. I need to know you trust what I'm doing."

"We trust you, Buffy," Giles said.

"Of course we do," Willow added.

Buffy turned to Xander. "What about you?"

"I don't trust Faith, but I do trust you."

"That's good enough," Buffy said.

* * *

Spike had just sat down in front of the television when he heard the knock at his door.

"Bugger," he muttered, putting his cup of pig's blood down and getting up to answer it.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Buffy standing on the other side.

"You're actually knocking on my door? That's a first. Usually you just burst in here."

"Can I come in?"

Spike walked away from the door, leaving it open, and Buffy let herself in.

"Don't you know vampires sleep during the day?" he asked.

"You weren't sleeping."

"Well I could have been."

Buffy looked at her watch. "No, it's two o'clock. _Passions _is on. I remembered you liked that show."

"Which you're making me miss by the way." Spike sat down in his chair, turning his attention back to the television. "What do you want, Slayer?"

"I came to ask you for help."

Spike whipped around, a look of surprise on his face. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to say that a little louder."

"Oh please, with your vampire hearing? You heard what I said."

Spike stood up and walked over to her, leering. "I know, but I want to hear you say it again. And say it louder."

Buffy sighed in frustration. "I need your help."

Spike cupped his hand over his ear. "What was that?"

"Okay, fine, never mind!" Buffy turned on her heel and headed for the door.

"Wait."

Buffy stopped and slowly turned around.

"What do you need?"

"I need someone who can fight."

"Fine. I'll do it. But it'll cost you."

"I'm not going to pay you!"

Spike shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

"So you'll do it?"

"You don't need my help _now_, do you? Because I'm a little busy." Spike indicated the television.

"No, I don't need your help right this second. But I will soon. Look, something big is going down in a couple of weeks, and we could really use all the fighting power we can get. That vampire last night? His name is Maleficus."

"I know."

"You…know?"

"Yeah, I know all about him. His mind control, his magic, the way he alters his appearance."

"How do you know about him?"

"Well if you'd bother to ask me for help before, I could have told you anything you needed to know."

"Well can you blame me for not wanting to include you? After all, you did try to _kill _me."

Spike smiled. "Yeah, good times."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Can you just be ready when I need you to be?"

"Fine, whatever. Now, are we done?"

"Not quite. Where's Faith?"

"She's got a room at the Sunnydale Motel."

"Good, that's what I thought." Buffy turned and let herself out.

"You're welcome!" Spike yelled.

* * *

It hadn't been hard for Buffy to find Faith's room. The clerk at the front desk recognized her, and told Buffy where she could find her.

Buffy made her way to the room and knocked on the door. She could hear a TV playing within. A few seconds later, she heard footsteps, and the door cracked open.

"Buffy," Faith said, a tone of surprise in her voice.

"Hey. I was hoping we could…talk. We didn't really get a chance to last night after you and Spike split. Can I come in?"

Faith shrugged. "Sure, I guess." She opened the door, letting her inside.

Buffy took a moment to look around the room. There were takeout leftovers on the table. The bed was unmade with the sheets all but falling off, and a pile of dirty clothes sat on the floor. Maybe Faith had lost her memory, but her personal habits had certainly remained the same.

"Sorry the place is a mess. I wasn't exactly expecting company."

Buffy moved her leather jacket aside and sat down in the chair. Faith returned to her spot on the bed, waiting for her to start talking.

"You stayed here before," Buffy said, the first thing that came to her mind.

"It was the closest place I could find. And Ronnie up at the front hooked me up with the room I had before. I guess it's like, mine or something."

"Right."

"So um…is that nasty gash on your side okay?"

"Oh, yeah. It's almost gone. Slayer healing."

"Yeah, that's pretty cool. I like that."

"Right, you would know. Last night, you were fighting like you'd been fighting a million times, like you hadn't spent any time in a coma at all."

"I guess it's like second nature. Some things you never forget, like riding a bike I suppose. Plus, Spike helped me. We were patrolling together."

"Yeah. I sort of figured that."

"So are you just here to catch up on old times or was there another reason you came here?"

"I came here for two reasons. The first being to apologize to you. I—I was wrong about you. And I'm really sorry for the way I acted at the hospital. I didn't believe you were telling the truth before, about your amnesia."

"That was kind of obvious."

"I should have, though. I of all people know what it's like to wake up and not be able to remember, and how scary and confusing it can be. I was in a coma too a while back. It was only for six days, but when I woke up, there were some things I couldn't remember. I mean, I knew who I was and all, but it was still hard. You were in a coma for a year. It shouldn't be a surprise that you would have some serious head trauma, although it is pretty amazing you're actually walking and talking—"

"And not being a vegetable?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah."

"So you believe I'm telling the truth now?"

"Yes, I do. You're not exactly a hide-in-the-shadows kind of girl. You're live-out-loud. If I believed you were up to something, you would have made a move by now. The old Faith would have anyway."

"Look, Buffy, I'm really sorry about Angel. He seems like a nice guy and I don't know why I would have tried to kill him. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me, but for whatever it's worth, I am sorry. I just want to start over. Clean slate, you know?"

"Wow. You really don't remember, do you?"

"That's what I'm been trying to say. So what's the second reason?"

"What?"

"You said you came here for two reasons. What was the second one?"

"Oh, right. The second is to ask you for help. I hate to ask, but something bad is going on. Something…major."

"You mean with that Maleficus vamp or whatever his name is?"

"Yes. He's dangerous, and he fights dirty. We're going to need as much help as we can get."

"You mean fighting power."

Buffy nodded. "Another slayer fighting would be helpful. And you always were a pretty good fighter."

"And you want me to help you?"

"If you do this for me, Faith, I think I can start to forgive you."

Faith thought for a moment, then smiled. "Sure. I'll do it. I kind of like this ass-kicking gig. And I got nothing to lose, right?"

Buffy smiled. "I'm glad you're on board." She stood up and walked the short distance to the door. "I'll tell you the details later. But for now, I just need to know I can count on you to help."

"Sure."

"Okay. So we're….five by five?"

"'Five by five'? What does that mean?"

If Buffy had any doubts about Faith's amnesia, she didn't now. "It just means we're cool. At least…I think that's what it means. I'm not really sure. You're the one who always says it."

Faith nodded. "Five by five. I like it."

"Well, I'll see you around."

"See ya, Buffy."

Buffy paused at the door and turned to Faith. "B. You always call me 'B'."


	51. The Perfect Spell

When Buffy arrived back at the mansion, she felt exhausted.

Fortunately, afternoon naps were accepted around here.

She poked her head into Angel's room, seeing him in bed. He smiled at her, still awake. "Taking your afternoon nap?" she teased.

"Well it's the middle of the day. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Buffy closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. "Can I join you?" She didn't wait for permission and climbed under the covers, snuggling next to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"How's your side? Did you change the dressing yet?"

"Yes, _doctor_. It's fine. It's already healing."

"How did your talk with Faith go?"

"Good. She said she'll help."

"You don't sound like you're happy about that."

"I am. I just feel bad the way I treated her before. I'm surprised she was willing to talk to me. Surprised she even wanted to help me last night."

"I'm sure Faith understands she did a lot of things to hurt you and that it'll take some time to forgive."

"Can I really still blame her though? I mean, it's not like she can remember."

"I think she wants to make amends regardless."

"We were friends at one time. I'd like for us to be friends again."

"I'm sure you will," Angel said, kissing her forehead.

"I'm so tired." Buffy closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest.

"Then sleep," he whispered, closing his own eyes.

* * *

"One Orb of Thesulah!" Willow said, placing the orb on the counter in front of Tara.

"I thought you two had the one Adriana gave you," Anya said.

"Oh we do," Tara said. "But we thought in case we really did need a spare, we'd take this one too."

Willow brushed off a layer of dust from the orb with her fingertip. "I found it in the storage room. A little dusty. We haven't had to use it in a while."

Giles walked out from the back room and handed Anya a note. "Anya, I need you to make an order."

"Sure."

Giles turned to go back downstairs, but stopped when he saw a familiar object. "Why is the Orb of Thesulah here on the counter?"

"Oh, Willow and Tara are using it for—"

"Decoration!" Willow said, cutting Anya off. "They're kind of funky and unusual looking. And look, they make great paperweights!" Willow picked up the orb and placed it on a stack of papers. "See? Look at that. Those inventory sheets aren't going anywhere with this bad boy holding them down!"

Giles stared at Willow, a look of concern on his face. "Willow, are you feeling alright?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Never better! Well, except for the impending doom of the apocalypse, that is."

Giles shook his head. "Alright. I'm going back downstairs."

When Giles left, Willow made a show of wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Whew! Close call!"

Anya gave Willow a confused look. "I thought you were using it for Angel's spell."

"We are. I just didn't want Giles to know yet."

"Why can't Giles know again?" Tara asked.

"Oh you know how Giles is, Tara. If he found out we were doing a spell like this…"

"Right. He'd give us a lecture. He's already concerned about us doing the spell on Maleficus."

Willow cleared her throat, then took on a British accent to imitate Giles. "You girls really shouldn't be dabbling in those dark magicks. Those forces are extremely powerful as well as dangerous. There could be unforeseeable consequences!"

Tara laughed. "Willow, you're so bad!"

Willow shrugged. "I love Giles. I really do. He's just so easy to make fun of sometimes."

"So are you going to do the spell tonight?" Anya asked.

Willow picked up the orb and put it in her bag. "We'll probably wait until Buffy's injury heals. But we're going to tell them this afternoon!" she added with a smile.

* * *

"Wanna take a quiz?" Buffy asked, looking up at Angel with a smile. She was laying on the couch with her head in his lap and a magazine in her hands.

Angel looked away from his book, his brow furrowing. "Quiz?"

"'Is He Devoted To You? Take this quiz and find out now!'"

Angel laughed. "You don't need a quiz for that."

"I know. I just want to see if you can pass the test anyway."

Angel put down his book and smiled. "Okay. What's the first question?"

"Question one: How often does he tell you you're beautiful? A) At least once a day. B) Only when you're wearing something incredibly sexy, or nothing at all. Or C) Not often enough."

"Well of course the answer's 'A'. You know that."

Buffy smiled. "Question two: On your birthday, he…A) Treats you to a romantic night and gives you a thoughtful gift. B) Just gets you a card. Or C) Says he forgot."

"'A'. Definitely 'A'."

"Good answer. You're passing the test so far. Okay, question three: He tells you he loves you…A) All the time. B) Only when you say you love him first. Or C) He hasn't told you yet."

"I think all of my answers are going to be 'A'."

"Question four: You're sick in bed with the flu. Your man…A) Comes over and takes care of you. B) Offers to pick up your prescription from the pharmacy. Or C) Stays away…he doesn't want to get sick too."

"I'd have to say 'A' again."

"Okay, one more question. It's late at night, you can't sleep, and you're feeling lonely. You call your guy and he…A) Comes right over. B) Talks to you on the phone until you fall asleep. Or C) Says he's busy now and promises to see you later."

"Well, if you called me late at night, chances are I _would_ actually be busy, so I guess I'd have to say 'C'."

Buffy sat up and glared at Angel. "'_C_'? But I'm lonely and I can't sleep!"

Angel laughed. "I'm kidding. Of course I'd come see you right away."

Buffy smiled. "I knew you were just kidding."

"No you didn't," he laughed. "How'd I do?"

"You passed with flying colors. I guess you really are devoted to me."

"Was there any doubt?"

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

The front door opened, and the moment was interrupted.

"Oh good, you're both here!" Willow said, smiling.

"Good news, Will?" Buffy asked.

"Really good news," Willow said, fighting back to urge to squeal.

"You two have a few minutes?" Tara asked. "We have something pretty big to tell you."

"Wait, should we call a meeting?" Buffy asked.

Tara shook her head. "No. This really only concerns you two."

Buffy threw Tara a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Willow sat down on the coffee table, smiled at Tara, then turned to Angel and Buffy. "Okay, here's the thing. Tara and I have been working on a spell."

"Right, to thwart Maleficus," Angel said.

"No. I mean, yes, we've been working on that one too. But we've sort of been working on another as well." Willow took a deep breath and looked to Angel, feeling like she could absolutely burst with the news she was about to tell. "Angel, what would you say if there was a way we could make your soul permanent?"

"What?" Angel asked, not sure if he heard her right.

"Make his soul permanent?" Buffy looked from Willow to Tara. Willow had an almost giddy look on her face, and Tara was beaming. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"No happiness clause," Willow said. "Tara and I can do a revised restoration spell."

"Is this what you two were working on the other day?" Buffy asked.

Willow nodded. "Yeah. So, Angel? What do you think?"

Angel was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "I'm sorry, Willow, but I don't think that's possible." Angel gently moved Buffy aside as he rose to his feet and walked over to his book collection.

"But, Angel, it is!"

Angel selected a book from his shelf, glancing at the worn cover. "Don't you think I've researched this already? You can find a lot of soul-binding spells in these books, but there's not one in here that would work. Not in my situation anyway." Angel placed the old book back on the shelf and stared at Buffy, seeing her eyes so full of hope. "I tried, Buffy. I tried to find a way. I had hoped these books would give me the answers, but all they seemed to give me were false promises."

Buffy stood up from the couch and walked over to him. "Why didn't you tell me any this before? I could have helped you research."

"I didn't want to get your hopes up. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway. I never found a spell that would work."

"No offense, Angel, but you're not a witch," Willow said, smiling. "Don't you think there's the possibility you overlooked something?"

"I just don't see how it could be so simple."

"But what if it is?" Willow stood up, walking over to him. "Look, I had my doubts as well, and I've researched those same spells too." Willow glanced at Buffy, seeing the surprise on her face. "I didn't want to tell you, Buffy. For the same reasons as Angel. I didn't want to get your hopes up. But now I understand why I couldn't find the answer before. You were cursed by gypsy magick, and that's a whole other ball game!"

"Tell them about Adriana," Tara said.

"We talked to this friend of Anya's, some girl she knew from her vengeance demon days, and she's a gypsy!"

"It was a gypsy who put the curse on me in the first place," Angel said, pondering aloud.

"Right. So who better to help us with gypsy magick than a gypsy herself?"

"So this gypsy helped you change his curse?" Buffy asked.

"Well, not exactly," Willow said. "Turns out the original curse itself can't actually be altered. So instead, she'd helped us create a brand new curse!"

Angel glanced at Buffy, the corner of his lip lifting in a smile, then turned back to Willow. "You really believe this will work?"

Willow nodded. "I do, Angel."

"And I wouldn't lose my soul, not even after…"

"You'll never have to worry about Angelus again. You could be as happy as you want and you and Buffy could be together…in every sense of the word."

For the first time since he'd given up his quest on a soul-binding spell, Angel felt hopeful. "And you're _sure_ this will work?"

"Yes! It'll work! Okay, maybe we're 99% sure, but those are pretty good odds!"

"Oh my god," Buffy said, placing her hands over her mouth.

Willow smiled at her. "We were kind of hoping that would be your reaction."

Buffy threw her arms around Willow, hugging her tightly. "Willow, I love you!"

"Okay, I can't breathe!" Willow squeaked.

"Oh, sorry!" Buffy apologized, letting go. 'Tara, you too!" Buffy hugged Tara as well. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome."

Willow grinned. "It's times like these when I'm so glad I'm a witch."

"How exactly does this spell work?" Angel asked.

"The new curse acts like a lock," Tara said, trying to explain. "Think of it like this. We take Angelus, put him in a box, lock him up, and throw away the key. It's a permanent lock. In fact, the only thing that'll break the curse is if you stop loving Buffy."

Angel smiled. "Well there's no chance of that happening."

"We figured," Willow said, smiling. "Isn't that much better than a happiness clause?"

"And what do we have to do?" Buffy asked.

"Your part's easy," Willow said. "There's just one thing you have to do."

"What's that?"

"Well, the thing is, in order for the new curse to work, we have to remove the old curse first. Which would mean…"

"Angel and I would have to sleep together."

Angel's eyes grew wide, but he remained silent.

Willow nodded. "Yeah. I don't know of another way to make Angel lose his soul."

"Willow and I will be right there," Tara said. "And as soon as Angelus appears—"

"Wait, you're not going to be in the same room with us, are you?"

"What? No, of course not, Buffy!" Willow laughed.

"Okay, good. Because that would make this just a little more awkward than it already is."

"When Angelus appears, Willow and I will perform the spell."

"And afterwards, you'll be just fine." Willow smiled at Angel. "Complete with a soul and as much happiness as you can stand."

Buffy turned to Angel, grinning ear to ear. "What do you say, Angel? Do you want to make your soul permanent?"

"Absolutely not," Angel said defiantly.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know.

You don't even have to tell me.

The chapter was going so well, and then I had to totally ruin the ending! But you had to know that once Angel realized he'd have to be Angelus again, he'd have some sort of problem with it. Notice how quiet he got towards the end there? Grr…stubborn Angel!

Until 52…(Ducking from objects hurled by angry readers…)


	52. Worth Fighting For

For a moment, Buffy stood there, stunned. "I'm sorry, did I hear you right?"

"We're not doing this, Buffy."

"_What?_ Why not?"

Willow looked from Buffy to Angel in confusion. "Okay, I don't understand. What just happened?"

"Do you really need to ask why?" Angel asked Buffy, ignoring Willow.

"Yes, I really do! Just two seconds ago you seemed excited about this and now you're being all grouchy! Why _wouldn't_ you want to do this? Angel, this is our chance! We could be together, _really together, _and you wouldn't ever have to worry about Angelus hurting me again."

"Do you really think it would be that easy? That we could just get what we want and that would be it? That there would be no consequences?"

"I don't understand, Angel! What consequences?"

"_Angelus_, Buffy! I'm talking about Angelus! Do you have any idea how dangerous this spell is?"

"Angel, you don't have to worry," Willow said. "Granted the spell is a little more complicated than it sounds, and of course it does come with certain risks, but we can do it. You don't have to worry about Angelus."

"I don't doubt your abilities, Willow. If you hadn't restored my soul the first time, we'd probably never be having this conversation."

"Okay, so what's the problem?" Tara asked. "I thought you were on board with the spell."

"Yeah, so did I," Buffy muttered, glaring at Angel.

Angel glanced at Tara and Willow. "Could you two give Buffy and I a moment alone please?"

Tara stood for a moment, jaw dropped, then nodded. "Um, okay. Sure, Angel."

"Just…let us know if you change your mind?" Willow said, then followed Tara out of the room. "Okay, that wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting," she whispered.

"Yeah, me neither. I thought this would bring them closer, not make them fight."

"Maybe Angel just needs some time to think about it. I forget how stubborn he can be some—oh!" Willow crashed into Wesley. "Sorry, Wesley! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Quite alright."

"You might not want to go in there right now," Tara said.

Wesley frowned. "Why not?"

Willow glanced behind her, then turned back to Wesley. "Buffy and Angel are…"

"Kissing?" he whispered.

"Um, no, not exactly."

"_What is the problem, Angel?"_ Buffy shouted.

"Oh, arguing," Wesley said.

"The problem is that something could go wrong. Buffy, if we do this, Angelus _will_ take over. And if we let Angelus loose…I just can't live with the thought of hurting you again."

"Angel, that's the point," she said, lowering her voice. "After we do this spell, Angelus _won't_ be able to hurt me anymore."

"And you're missing the point I'm trying to make. If we do this, I'll become the monster who terrorized you two years ago."

"I can handle Angelus. I did before and I will again. Besides, this time, I'll be ready for him, and it's not going to be for very long. We're talking what? Five, ten minutes tops? And you'll be chained up. Nothing will go wrong."

"How can you be so sure? What if you don't have time to chain me up?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what if Angelus makes an early appearance. What if he makes an appearance _during? _Did you think about that?"

"Well before it happened later. I know it did, because I remember falling asleep in your arms, and you were still you."

"Buffy, I don't know how this works. Maybe we'll have enough time. But if we don't…I don't want to take a chance of letting him out and letting him hurt you. Don't you understand? I'd give anything to not have you go through that again."

"Angel, we're just going to have to take a chance."

"No, we can't do that. I won't risk it."

"Okay, so that's it? End of discussion? You're not even going to try Willow and Tara's spell? Not even when it could give you something you truly want?"

"I'm sorry, but they'll just have to find another way. One that doesn't involve bringing you anywhere near Angelus again."

"Angel, I don't understand. We're so close. We're _so_ _close_ to having something we both want. And you're just going to what…give up?"

"Buffy…it's not that simple."

"Nothing worth having ever is. If it's not worth having, than it's not worth fighting for. And aren't we worth fighting for?"

Angel just stared at her, not uttering a single word.

"Well, I guess I have my answer." Buffy turned on her heel and walked away from him.

"Buffy…"

"Just leave me alone!" she shouted as she ran out of the mansion.

Angel turned around and punched the wall, which wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do at the moment. Holding his injured hand, Angel sat down near the fireplace. He really wished that conversation with Buffy had gone a lot better.

"You should put some ice on that," Wesley said, appearing in the doorway.

Angel wasn't use to people sneaking up on him. Usually his sense of smell or sound would tip him off, but he'd been so preoccupied with his fight with Buffy that he hadn't even noticed the ex-watcher's presence.

"Wesley."

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard some of your conversation with Buffy and ran into Willow and Tara in the hall." Wesley walked over and sat down beside him.

"Did you know about this? About what they were planning?"

Wesley shook his head. "No, I hadn't a clue. But I have to say…it'd be really quite amazing if they could do this. Although I can understand your hesitation."

"It's dangerous, Wes. I promised myself I'd never let Angelus loose again. I hurt too many people the last time."

Wesley frowned, pondering the vampire's situation for a moment. "Angel, may I ask you a personal question?"

Angel didn't answer, but Wesley asked anyway. "Is it only…_intercourse_?" he whispered.

Angel looked at Wesley with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"The curse. Is it only the act of physical pleasure that triggers the transformation?"

"I don't think it's the physical act itself. It's more the emotions that go with it. When Buffy and I were together, it wasn't just sex. It was more than that. It's just Buffy and the way I feel about her. It's always Buffy. And making love is the ultimate expression of our love. That's what triggers it. She's my perfect happiness."

"So loving Buffy is your perfect happiness?"

"Yes."

"But you're with Buffy now, in a limited capacity, of course. Do you think perhaps that over time, your misery would gradually ease? I mean, is it possible that you could become so complacent in your life that ordinary things could trigger it? Example, how did you feel when Buffy came out of her coma?"

"Relief mostly."

"But not just relief, am I right?"

"I felt happy too," Angel admitted.

"You keep the demon inside of you at bay, but for how long, Angel? You can control your behavior and how you act, but there are other things out of your control for you to consider. Do you remember what happened a few months back when that actress laced your drink with that mood-altering drug?"

"Yeah. I could have hurt or even killed someone."

"You walk a fine line, Angel."

Angel stared at Wesley, considering what he said. "So you think I should go through with this?"

Wesley shook his head. "I can't make that decision for you. I just wanted to give you something to think about." Wesley stood up, retrieving the book from the table he'd come for in the first place.

"For what it's worth, Angel, I think no matter what you decide, Buffy will love you regardless."

Wesley left the room, leaving Angel alone to brood.

In his mind, all he could see was the hurt in her eyes when he had told her no.

* * *

Angel stared at his cell phone for a moment, then dialed the number he had long since committed to memory. He placed the phone to his ear, listening to it ring several times.

At the Summers' residence, the phone in the quiet, dark kitchen rang unheard.

Angel groaned when the answering machine clicked on.

"_Hi, you've reached Buffy, Willow, and Tara. Sorry we missed your call. Leave us a message!"_

The machine beeped, and Angel rubbed his forehead. He'd wanted to hear Buffy's voice, but not on the machine. "Buffy, I know you're over there. Please…pick up the phone."

Angel waited a moment, hoping to hear her voice on the line, but instead was greeted with silence.

"Buffy? Okay, you're angry and you're not speaking to me. But please just call me. I need to talk to you. I don't want us to fight. I love you, Buffy."

Angel sighed as he hung up the phone. He imagined Buffy sitting in the kitchen, staring at the machine as he left his message. He looked at his phone again, and he hoped she would call.

* * *

Buffy sat against her mother's headstone, gripping her stake so hard that a splinter had burrowed itself beneath her skin. She knew it was foolish to be out here by herself. She wasn't even sure how she got here, or why. It was as if her legs had a will of their own, and suddenly, she was here.

_We're not doing this, Buffy._

She kept repeating Angel's words over and over in her mind. If she hadn't been so angry at the moment, she'd probably cry.

She could understand Angel wanting to be cautious. If truth be told, every one of Angel's concerns had crossed her mind as well. But didn't they deserve a little happiness? Didn't they owe it to themselves to at least try?

"Trouble in paradise, Slayer?" said a familiar voice.

Buffy looked up at her unwelcome visitor. "Not now, Spike."

Spike, ignoring the fact that she didn't want him there, sat down on the ground beside her. He could care less if she wanted company or not.

"You and Angel have been joined to the hip since he came storming back into town, and now he's nowhere in sight. So what happened? You two have a row or something? He didn't go all soul-losing on you, did he?"

"No, god forbid that happen for a moment," Buffy mumbled.

"What are you doing out here by yourself, anyway? You probably shouldn't be out here alone with that Maleficus character out there lurking."

Buffy glared at Spike. "I don't need a babysitter. Especially you."

Spike made no effort to move. Apparently he wasn't going away.

"You always come here, you know."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, finding it strange that Spike would know something like that about her. "I do?"

"I'm surprised vampires still come to this cemetery with you here all the time. Like it's your favorite cemetery or something. I guess that's why you have your mother buried here." Spike nodded his head towards the gravestone behind him.

Spike had been right about that. This was her favorite cemetery. It made sense she'd want to come here to visit her mother, and to slay, of course.

"I liked Joyce. She was very…motherly. You know, she was the only human being that I didn't feel like killing."

Buffy supposed that was some kind of compliment, and coming from Spike, it was odd. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Spike shrugged. "I guess I've finally accepted the truth."

"And what truth would that be?"

"I can't kill you. And not just because of the damn chip in my head. You're the only slayer that's bested me time after time again. You pick your battles, you know? And you're no match for me."

"So what, you can't beat me, so now you're joining me?"

"You know why I liked killing slayers?"

"I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but why?"

"Because of the rush. The adrenaline. There's nothing like knowing that any second, it could be over, and nothing like knowing that you beat those odds and won."

"You're really twisted."

"The point I'm making is that I love the fight. And then those damn Initiative boys your commando boyfriend, or ex, whatever, worked for put this chip in my head and took away all of that. I wanted to kill myself."

"But you didn't."

"No, because I realized I _could_ fight, if I really wanted to. Not with humans, unfortunately, unless I want a splitting headache. But I can fight demons. It's not nearly the rush of fighting a slayer, but it'll do."

"So you're helping us out of the goodness of your heart? Oh wait, that's right, you don't have a heart."

"I fight them because I enjoy the thrill. And besides," Spike said, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I like the lot of you after all."

Buffy stared at him incredulously.

"Oh don't get me wrong, Slayer. I still fantasize about killing you all. But I like to make fun of people, and you and your Scooby gang are good for entertainment value."

Spike suddenly stood to his feet and dug into his pocket for a cigarette. "You should go home. If Peaches knew you were out here patrolling by yourself, he'd be fit to be tied." Spike took his lighter out from another pocket and the lit the cigarette.

Buffy rose from the ground and brushed the dirt off her pants. She didn't want to go back home, or to the mansion. She didn't really want to hang out here with Spike either. She hated that Spike had to do that…remind her of Angel, which reminded her of how furious she was with him at the moment.

"I'll guess I'll see you later, then?" Spike asked as he watched her walk away, without so much as a goodbye to him.

* * *

He was a fool.

Wasn't this what he wanted? Hadn't he dreamed of a life without Angelus?

Angel glanced down at the couch, seeing Buffy's magazine. He picked it up, thumbing through the pages and by sheer coincidence, found the quiz from earlier.

"_Is He Devoted To You?"_

Angel threw the magazine down and headed to the door. He wasn't going to sit around here all night, brooding. He was going to go to Buffy, and he was going to make this right.

When he opened the door, Buffy was on the other side.

"Buffy. I was just leaving to find you."

Buffy, without a word, pushed past him and headed up the stairs.

"Buffy!"

Buffy ignored him, but Angel followed.

Once upstairs, Buffy headed straight to her bedroom and slammed the door. She'd barely slept in that bedroom since she arrived here, choosing instead to sleep with him. Angel had a feeling he'd be sleeping alone tonight unless he made this right.

Angel knocked on the door, waited a moment, then knocked again. "Buffy, please open the door."

The door cracked open slightly. "I just want to be left alone," she said, then started to close the door again.

"Buffy, don't." Angel put his foot in the door, pushing himself in.

"I'm not talking to you." Buffy walked to the other side of the room to get away from him. "Except to tell you that I'm not talking to you. And it starts…right now."

"That's fine, Buffy. You don't need to say anything. I just need you to listen."

Buffy began to rummage through her dresser drawer, looking for something to sleep in. "Well maybe I don't want to hear what you have to say."

"I thought you weren't talking to me."

Buffy glared at him, daring him to make another smart remark.

Angel walked over to her and gently touched her elbow, leading her to the bed to sit. "Please?"

Buffy complied, sitting down, and gave him a look that said he better hurry up and start talking.

"Do you remember the night we made love?"

Buffy stared at a spot on the wall, not looking at him.

"Right, you're not talking to me. That night, Buffy? It was the best and worst night of my life. I know we never really talked about it, never exactly had the chance to talk about it afterwards considering…"

Angel touched her cheek, turning her head to look at him. "Buffy, I'm so sorry that night was ruined for you too."

Buffy moved her finger to her eye, wiping a tear threatening to fall. "It's not your fault. It's not like we could have helped it. We didn't know."

"Loving you, Buffy, it's the greatest, most pure thing I have ever experienced. I've never loved anyone so completely like that. And afterwards, when you fell asleep in my arms, I just held you. I wanted to stay awake and keep watching you. You looked so peaceful and content. And beautiful. But I fell asleep. And then something woke me up. I remember when it happened."

Buffy knew what 'it' was referring to. When he lost his soul.

"It's hard to explain, but it felt as if someone was literally ripping me in two. I felt the control slipping away from me. And it was in that moment I knew. I don't know how I knew, but I knew what was going to happen. And I didn't know why it was happening, only that it was. And I was so afraid of what I might do to you."

"That's why you left?"

"Yeah. I didn't want you to wake up to the monster that I knew I'd become. Angelus is cold-hearted and cruel, and he took the love we shared and tried to turn it into something dirty. He only saw you as someone he could torment…just for the pleasure of it.

"Buffy, it terrifies me. It terrifies me that just beneath the surface, there's a cruel and brutal monster just waiting for an opportunity to get out. Inside me is a monster who is no better than the vampires that nearly killed you, or maybe even worse. I vowed I'd never be Angelus again after what happened. I never want you to have to go through that again. That's why I never talk about that night. It's too painful. To think of all the things I did…"

Buffy put her hands over his and gave him a small smile. "Angel, that part is over. It's in the past. I know you'd never hurt me. The beast who tormented me wasn't you."

"The beast is a part of me."

"But you're not him. You're _you_, and you're nothing like him."

Angel looked down, apparently lost in his thoughts.

"Angel, I'm sorry for the way I acted earlier."

Angel looked at Buffy. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because I didn't take the time to hear you out. I didn't understand why you refused to do the spell. I didn't realize how much being Angelus bothers you. I'm sorry I didn't listen."

"No, Buffy, don't apologize. If anyone should be apologizing, it's me. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I let my fear of Angelus get in the way of what's really important. And that's us."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I love you, Buffy. And if there's a chance, even a small one, that we could be together without worrying about the demon inside of me, then we should take it."

Buffy smiled, hoping it was true. "Are you saying you changed your mind? You want to do the spell after all?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

Angel smiled at her. "Yes," he repeated. "Let's do the spell."

Angel hardly had time to react as Buffy threw her arms around him, holding him tight.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She pulled away, smiling, but her smile faded when she saw the serious expression on Angel's face. "What is it?"

"Just because I'm agreeing to do this, it doesn't mean I'm not still concerned about the risks. We're talking about bringing Angelus forth. There's still the potential for something to go wrong."

"I know."

"If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right."

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Well, for starters, we're going to need some heavy-duty chains."

* * *

A/N: YAY! Angel's going to go through with the spell! See, no need to have been worried at the end of the last chapter! Don't you trust me to make things right for Buffy and Angel? :) Besides, I wouldn't go through the trouble of finding a way to fix Angel's curse if I had no intention of having him go through with it. :D

But, that being said…there ARE still a lot of risks that go with this, and Angel has some valid reasons for being concerned. You'll just have to see how it turns out…

So a little side note…the title of this chapter inspired the title of this story. I came up with about ten different titles and I hated them all. _Worth Fighting For_ stuck because of the line Buffy used in this chapter, so I thought, okay, I'll use that one. And if you think about it, Buffy and Angel have had to fight several obstacles to be together. They could either give up, or fight for the chance to be together. And I think Buffy and Angel should definitely fight for that chance.

Okay…so next chapter…we're getting closer to the spell. The next several chapters will be devoted to this.

Until 53! :)


	53. Making Preparations

Angel was practically immobile. His hands were chained to the wall. His ankles were chained to the bedpost. The rest of his body was strapped down with some serious looking chains, and yet, it still wasn't quite enough.

"Make them tighter," he told Buffy.

"Tighter? Angel, I think this will hold. Are you sure I'm not cutting off your circulation?"

Angel smiled at her.

"Oh. Right. Vampires don't really have that problem."

"I just don't want to take any chances."

"Okay." Buffy reached underneath the bed and grabbed another link of the long chain. She wrapped it around him and pulled it tighter. She couldn't imagine how Angel could possibly escape from this getup, but she supposed it was good at least that he was being extra cautious. "There, how's that?"

Angel attempted to move around to no avail. "This should do it."

"You can't move at all?"

"Only my head. Unchain me now?"

"Oh, _now_ you want me to unchain you?" Buffy said with a mischievous grin.

"Please?" Angel begged, smiling. He knew where this was going.

"Maybe I like you all chained up and immobile." Buffy got on the bed and straddled him. "That kind of makes you like…my slave or something."

"I've had worse things happen to me…" Angel lifted his head to meet Buffy's lips. It really was too bad his hands were chained up, because if they weren't…

"Oh my god!"

Buffy and Angel quickly pulled away from each other and looked towards the doorway.

Cordelia stood there with her hand over her eyes. "I thought you two weren't doing this until tonight!"

Buffy laughed. "Relax, Cordelia, you can open your eyes. We're fully clothed."

"This is just a dry run," Angel explained.

Cordelia uncovered her eyes, slightly embarrassed. "Oh. Right. From here it sort of looked like…well, never mind. Angel, can I talk to you if you've got a second?"

Buffy hopped down from the bed. "He's all yours. And your timing couldn't be more perfect. You have a captive audience." Buffy grinned at Angel, knowing it was torture for him to not be able to move.

"Buffy!" Angel called out.

"See you later, slave boy." She blew him a kiss before bounding out of the bedroom.

Cordelia held up her hands. "I don't even _want_ to know what that was about."

"Cordy, could you?" Angel moved his head to the side, indicating the key sitting on the nightstand.

"Oh, you want me to unchain you?"

"Please?" he asked politely.

"I don't know. I do like the fact that I have a captive audience…"

"_Cordelia."_

"Oh, all right." Cordelia picked up the key from the nightstand and began unlocking his chains. "You don't have to be a big baby about it."

Angel rubbed his wrists as the manacles fell to the side. It was good to have them off.

"Oh my god, is this much chain really necessary?" she complained as she unwrapped the chains from around his body.

"You've met my alter-ego, right?"

Cordelia paused. "Good point."

Once Angel was finally free, he sat on the edge of the bed. "So, you wanted to talk? And I promise you'll have my undivided attention."

Cordelia sat down beside him, not sure how she should begin. "I um…I know we haven't really talked about this, but it's sort of been on my mind lately."

Angel's brow furrowed. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that everything has been happening so fast, and it's kind of left me wondering what happens next."

Angel shook his head, not following.

"You're finally getting your chance of happiness with Buffy. Or at least…semi-happiness. I suppose you'll still have the whole vampire thing to contend with, but the point is you love Buffy, and you'll want to be with her."

"I'm not making the same mistakes I made before. Buffy's right. No matter what challenges we face, we're so much better together than we are apart."

"Right, and I'm not arguing with that."

"But?"

"But what happens to _Angel Investigations_ when all this is said and done? With you deciding to stay here in Sunnydale, where does that leave Wesley and I?"

"I don't know, Cordelia. I suppose that's a decision you two will have to make. But as far as _Angel Investigations_…I could really work from anywhere. Any place that has paranormal activity will do and let's face it, Sunnydale has a Hellmouth."

"So you _would_ want to continue the mission?"

"Yes. But I would understand if you didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I know how you feel about L.A., and I know how you feel about Sunnydale. I couldn't ask you to come with me."

"But Angel, I—"

"Don't get me wrong, not that I wouldn't want you to. But you've got yourself a nice life carved out for you there. You deserve something way better than this. And you should be off the hook from the Powers. I know you don't want this, Cordelia. When you were in high school, I remember you always hated it when you got dragged into these kinds of situations. And now you're in the thick of it. Not to mention the visions that take over you or the painful migraines that accompany them. You should be in L.A. in your nice rent-controlled apartment with your ghostly roommate, and you should be living your dream. I know you really want to get into acting. Maybe now is your chance. You should go for it. You shouldn't have Wesley and I holding you back."

"You see, that's the thing. I'm not sure if that's what I want anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't get me wrong. I love my apartment, and I couldn't ask for a better roommate than Dennis. Well, except for the fact that he doesn't pay rent. And if some big-time Hollywood producer came knocking on my door, well I wouldn't exactly turn down the offer. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've done a lot of growing up this past year. I used to be so shallow. Back in high school? It was like, as long as I had money, I had power, and I walked around the halls of Sunnydale High like I owned the place, like I was better than anyone else.

"But you know what the truth is? I don't have a lot of money now, and I've come to realize that I'm just like everybody else. That the people I thought I was better than are actually no different from me. And while money is nice, and I do miss having it sometimes, it's not what really matters. What matters is helping others. What matters is protecting those you love and care about. That's the most important thing of all."

"So you're saying…what are saying?"

Cordelia met Angel's gaze and smiled. "I'm saying that I'm in this for the long haul. If you want to start up _Angel Investigations_ here in Sunnydale, then I'm okay with it. I want to help you."

Angel smiled. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yes. Besides, I think I'd miss you and Wesley too much if you left. I've kind of grown attached to you guys."

"And you'd miss bickering with Wesley over mundane things."

Cordelia laughed. "That too."

"Cordy, I'm glad that you told me this. To be honest, I was hoping you'd want to stay, but I didn't want to get in the way of what you really wanted to do in life. Did I ever tell you how grateful I am that I ran into you in L.A.?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I'm glad I did. True, you sort of bulldozed your way into my own personal mission, but I don't think _Angel Investigations_ could have even started if it wasn't for you."

"Well, I don't think I can take all the credit for that. Doyle had his part in helping too. But the truth is, _you_ were the one that helped me. I'd probably still be stuck in that roach-infested apartment waiting for my agent to call if you hadn't swooped in and gave me a purpose. Or I'd be dead from that Russell guy. You really saved me that night. Thanks for that by the way."

"It's funny how life works, isn't it? You think you're going down one path, then suddenly—"

"Life throws you a curve and you go in a different direction."

"Exactly."

"So…tonight, huh? Are you ready?"

"I'm cautiously optimistic. There's still a chance something could go wrong…"

"Oh it won't. And don't give me that 'I'm worried this isn't going to work' spiel. I _know _you're looking forward to this."

Angel looked at Cordelia, giving her a look.

"Oh come on. Don't try to deny it. You can't wait to get groiny with Buffy and you know it."

Angel's mouth turned slightly upwards at the corner, and Cordelia spotted it.

"Ha! See? I knew it! You're smiling! You're _so_ looking forward to this. I can't say I blame you though. If I loved someone and could never have sex with them, I think I'd be miserable too. But after tonight, that'll no longer be an issue for you. You can have as much sex as you can stand. I'm guessing you and Buffy have a lot of catching up to do."

"It's not just about the sex, Cordelia. I mean, sure, the sex is pleasurable. But what Buffy and I share, it's more than just sex. It's a closeness. It's this feeling of intimacy that I've never felt before I met her. It's her filling every space inside me that's empty and making me feel whole. When we're together, it's more than just sex. It's something more. Something greater than the both of us."

"Love?"

"Yeah, but overwhelming, all-consuming love. I feel like I don't deserve it. How I could be so lucky to have such a wonderful gift?"

"You _do_ deserve it, Angel," Cordelia said, placing her hands over his. "You deserve to be happy. Don't think for a second that you don't. What's happened in the past is past, and there's nothing you can do to change that. All you can do now is look forward and continue to do the good work that you do. And if you get a chance at bringing some happiness in your life, you should embrace it and enjoy it."

"Thanks, Cordelia. For everything."

"That's what I do," she said, smiling. "Help people."

* * *

Anya grabbed the ringing phone from its cradle. "Magic Box, this is Anya speaking.…oh hey, Willow.…Oh you are? That's great!...Sure, I can come over to help. What time?...Okay, see you then."

Xander watched as Anya hung up the phone and walked back to the counter. "What are you helping Willow with?"

"Oh, she and Tara are doing a spell tonight to make Angel's soul permanent."

Xander paused for a moment, wondering if he heard her right. "They're doing _what_?"

"You know, so he won't lose it anymore? Like when he and Buffy have sex?"

"An, what are you talking about?"

"His _curse_! You know, how he can't have a moment of perfect happiness?"

"I'm well aware of Angel's curse. But what's this about a spell?"

"Oh, so Buffy or Willow didn't mention it?"

Xander sighed in frustration. "_No_."

"Well, they're doing this spell tonight, and they want me to come over and help."

"Help do what?"

Anya shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever they tell me to do, I guess."

"And how does this spell work?"

"Well, first, Buffy and Angel are going to have sex."

Xander's jaw dropped. "They're going to have _what_?"

"Sex," Anya repeated.

"Are they _crazy_?"

"No, I think they're just in love. Or incredibly horny. Maybe both. And then once Angelus appears, Willow and Tara are going to…you know, cure him!"

"Okay, that's it!" Xander got up from his chair and headed to the door.

"Xander, where are you going?"

"I'm going to go talk some sense into Buffy!" he hollered, then stormed out the door.

* * *

"Well hello to you too," Cordelia remarked when Xander walked past her without so much as a look in her direction.

"Where's Buffy?"

"She's right here," Buffy said, walking into the room.

"We need to talk," Xander said, his tone serious.

"That's my cue to leave," Cordelia said, walking out of the room.

"Let me guess. You heard about the spell we're doing tonight."

"Yeah, Anya might have mentioned it. Buff, I say this in the nicest way possible, but have you completely lost your mind?"

"I knew you wouldn't like this."

"_You think_? Of course I don't like it! Do you _really _think it's a good idea to sleep with Angel and bring back _Angelus_?"

"It's in everyone's best interest to make Angel's soul permanent, and this is the only way to do it."

"So what, Angel wants a happy, so he gets Willow and Tara to concoct a cure for him?"

"No, for your information, it was Willow and Tara's idea. And furthermore, Angel was against it initially."

"Well obviously he changed his mind when he realized sex was a part of the deal."

"This isn't about sex, Xander! It's about getting rid of Angelus!" Buffy walked closer to him. "Xander, I know it's hard to believe, but we want the same thing."

Xander rolled his eyes.

"Xander, look at me."

Xander returned to his gaze to hers.

"Look, I know you don't like Angel, but you have to admit that Angelus is way worse. And what we're doing tonight is ensuring that he'll never come back. Don't you want that?"

"Of course I do. But do you have to bring out Angelus to do it?"

"Yeah, we sort of have to. The revised curse won't work unless we get Angel to lose his soul again."

"How can you be sure Angelus will be gone for good?"

"Well, for one, there'll be no happiness clause."

"And what if the spell doesn't work? What then?"

"Well then, I don't know. I guess Willow could do the original restoration spell but I don't think she'll need to. It's going to work, Xander."

"What if he hurts you?"

"I can handle Angelus. Don't worry about me."

"I'd really feel a lot better if you weren't doing this."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah." Xander sat down on the couch. "Look, I know you've handled Angelus before, but, Buff, you do remember what happened last time he was around?"

Buffy nodded, sitting down beside him. "Yeah, I remember."

"It nearly destroyed you. What if something goes wrong? What if Angelus hurts you again?"

"I'll be careful."

"I guess there's no talking you out of this, is there?"

"No, not really. But you know what, Xander?"

"What?"

"It'd really be nice not having to worry about making Angel too happy again."

Xander nodded. "Yeah, I guess if there's anything positive about this, it's that."

"Xander, I know you're reluctant about this, but do you want to help?"

"Help do what?"

"Make sure Angelus doesn't get free and hurt anyone. I mean, it's unlikely that'll happen, but you know, better safe than sorry."

"I guess I'm going to have to." Xander gave her a smile. "There's no way I'm letting Angelus hurt you again," he promised.

* * *

Buffy sat on the couch and waited for Giles to respond.

He took off his glasses and began cleaning them with the handkerchief he always seemed to carry around.

"Giles? Are you going to, I don't know, say something?"

Giles put his glasses back on, and just as he opened his mouth, he closed it again.

Buffy watched as Giles made his way to his kitchen and pulled out his bottle of scotch he always kept handy.

"Okay, obviously you're not happy. You're cleaning your extremely clean glasses and now you're getting out the hard liquor."

Giles poured himself a glass of scotch and downed it.

Buffy decided it best not to push him to talk. Giles would say what he needed to say, but the fact that he was taking his time about it made her all the more nervous. She hadn't wanted to tell him about the spell in the first place. Her relationship with Angel was always a touchy subject between them, but she couldn't keep something this huge a secret for long. Besides, Buffy needed to know that Giles could trust her. She didn't want to make past mistakes like she had before when it came to Angel.

Finally, Giles joined her in the living room and sat in the opposite chair.

"Lecture time?" Buffy said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Do you have any idea how incredibly dangerous this is?"

"Giles, if anyone can do this spell, it's Willow. She did the original restoration spell, remember?"

"I wasn't referring to the spell, Buffy, although that too is quite risky, and I shall have a talk with Willow about it. Willow's a lot more powerful than she realizes. Tara as well."

Buffy shook her head. "Then I don't understand. What are you talk—"

"I'm talking about _Angelus!" _Giles hadn't meant for his voice to sound so harsh, but he wanted to make his point clear to Buffy. "And with an apocalypse right around the corner! I don't like this, Buffy."

"There's always an apocalypse around the corner. And you don't have to worry about Angelus. He's going to be chained up. We'll be ready for him this time."

"What if something were to go wrong?" Giles asked, his tone much calmer now, but still full of worry and dread.

"Angel and I have discussed the risks already. That's just a chance we're going to have to take."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Buffy."

"I know, Giles, and neither does Angel. But don't you want me to be happy?"

"Well of course, but—"

"I have to do this. I have to know that Angel and I have a chance. Life is short. _My life_ is short. And as long as I'm alive, I want Angel to be with me, and I'm going to fight for that chance if I have to."

Giles stared at the young woman who was the closest thing to a daughter he'd ever had. "You're sure about this?"

"I'm sure," she said confidently.

He realized that arguing was of no use. Buffy was in love, and she had already made up her mind. The only thing he could hope for was that Buffy would get her happiness, and that she wouldn't get hurt in the process. "Go over this with me again. Willow and Tara perform this…revised restoration spell?"

"Right. The spell will ensure that Angel never loses his soul, and that after tonight, Angelus will never make another appearance again."

"And why must you make Angelus appear?"

"Because they can't put a curse on top of another curse."

"Right, of course. But how exactly do you intend to lift his soul?"

Buffy gave Giles a pointed look.

"Oh." Giles said, and he understood, but he didn't like it.

"It's the one surefire way," Buffy said, shifting her gaze away from him. Talking about sex, even implying it, was embarrassing around Giles. "Well, I better go." Buffy stood up and gathered her things. "I just…I wanted you to hear it from me, about what we plan to do tonight."

"I wish you had told me sooner."

"I'm sorry. It's just kind of hard for me to talk about sometimes. I know you don't like him."

"Buffy, I don't hate Angel. I hate his evil half, but Angel himself? Well, he never asked for this. He's continued to try to atone for his sins, and for that, I respect him. More importantly, he saved your life, and I could never hate him after that."

A small smile came to Buffy's face, and she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him. "I'm glad to hear that."

Giles held her tightly, for he couldn't help the growing anxiety he felt.

"Well, I should…" Buffy nodded towards the door. It would be dark soon.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Please do be careful."

"Don't worry, Giles. We know what we're doing. I'll see you tomorrow."

Giles watched as Buffy walked out the apartment, then wandered back into his kitchen to get another drink.

He hoped to God he would see her tomorrow.

* * *

Buffy took one last look in the mirror, wanting to make sure she looked perfect for Angel. She silently thanked Cordelia for having the forethought to get a mirror for this bathroom. At least that was one thing they agreed about. Angel's place needed to be more girl-friendly.

Buffy knew making a fuss over her appearance was silly. Angel loved her just the way she was. He didn't care what she looked like. He thought her bedhead look was endearing. And hadn't she resembled something like a drowned rat the last time he'd made love to her? But he thought she was beautiful anyway.

Despite this, Buffy still wanted to look her best. After taking a shower, she donned a silky white robe and began to make herself look presentable. She pampered herself with all kinds of lotions and creams. She shaved her legs. She brushed and styled her hair. She'd even gone out for a French manicure earlier that afternoon. And just as she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup, she realized the time.

Someone knocked softly on the door, and Buffy opened it a crack.

"Hey," Willow said. "Just wanted to let you know that we're all set up and ready downstairs. Whenever you are."

"Willow, get in here for a second." Buffy ushered her inside the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

"You alright, Buffy?" she asked, concerned.

Buffy nodded. "How do I look?"

Willow smiled. "You look amazing."

"Really?"

"Would I lie?"

Buffy smiled back. "No, you wouldn't."

"Are you nervous?"

"No," she said, but maybe a little too quickly. "Well, maybe a little. But not about making love. I've thought about it and dreamt about it so many times in my mind. I don't feel shy at all. Besides, it's not as if Angel hasn't seen me that way before. I guess I'm just a little nervous about the spell."

"Which will go just fine."

There was such confidence in Willow's voice, and it chased away any lingering doubts Buffy possibly had. "You're right. I just needed to hear you say it one more time."

"So are you ready to do this?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm ready."

"Let us know when it's time?"

"I will." Buffy followed Willow out into the hallway. As Buffy made her way to the bedroom, she turned back again to see Willow.

Willow gave her two thumbs up before heading down the stairs. "Good luck, Buffy!"

* * *

A/N: Yay, we're getting closer to the spell! But before we get into that, how cute was the scene with the chains? Heh, I love that scene! I hope you could picture it in your head.

And Cordy! Look at her all mature now. I've said it before but I'll say it again…her character has definitely done a lot of growing up. And I really enjoy the friendship she shares with Angel. It's so much better than that romantic crap they tried to force between them on AtS, but enough of that…

And how about Giles' reaction? Ha! I love that moment when he's completely silent and instead of responding to Buffy, he chooses instead to clean his glasses and down a glass of scotch.

Don't be mad at Xander for his reaction. He's never liked Angel. But his heart is in the right place. He just wants Buffy to be safe. That's all he's ever wanted, and you can't blame him for that. I feel like he's sort of grown to be like a protective big brother to Buffy. Definitely no crush feelings towards her anymore…after all, he's with Anya now.

Next chapter…well, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to _that_ chapter! ;) I will try my best to get it posted soon. It's for the most part finished, but I'm still not completely happy with it. Just like Angel's happiness, it has to be perfect. Just know that I _am_ working on it. And before anyone asks, no, the story's rating will not be upgraded. Sorry to disappoint. Although I have a sneaking suspicion it will be a very strong rated "T" if that makes anyone feel any better…

Until 54!


	54. Your Perfect Happiness

Buffy opened the bedroom door and closed it quietly behind her. Angel stood by the bed lighting some candles. He wore nothing but a pair of black pants, and Buffy stared at the gryphon tattoo on his back before he turned around and gave her a smile.

"Romantic," she said.

"What?"

"The candles."

"Oh." Angel put the lighter down and walked over to Buffy. "You look beautiful."

Buffy couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. "Better than my drowned rat look like last time, huh?"

"You're always beautiful." He pulled her close to him, kissed her softly, then slowly pulled away.

He hadn't said anything, but Buffy knew something was bothering him. "Okay, what's the matter? You're not having seconds thoughts about this, are you?"

"No, Buffy, of course not. I just feel…"

"Nervous?"

"Cautious. What if something goes wrong? What if this spell doesn't work the way it's supposed to? What if—"

Buffy placed a finger on his lip, silencing him. "Shh. No more 'what ifs'. Sit down."

Angel complied, and Buffy climbed on the bed and sat behind him.

"Just relax," she said as her hands went to work on massaging his shoulders. "This won't work if you're feeling any anxiety. You have to be happy, remember? Close your eyes."

Angel closed his eyes, feeling Buffy work her way down his shoulder blades and back.

"Does that feel good?"

Angel mumbled a response, and Buffy continued her magic, kneading her fingers into all of the soft, tender spots on his back, then back to his shoulders again.

After a few minutes, he felt her lips where her hands had been seconds before. They quickly found the ticklish spot on his neck, to which Angel laughed softly.

Buffy smiled at his reaction. She was just getting started. "Lie down," she whispered in his ear.

Angel moved back, and Buffy gently pushed him down on the mattress and straddled him. She smiled at him, placing her palms on his chest, then slowly letting her hands roam to his shoulders and down the length of his arms. She then leaned forward, her lips making a trail up his chest where her hands had been seconds before. Angel closed his eyes and smiled, an image of Buffy licking ice cream off his body flashing through his mind.

Her hair tickled his face as she moved up to his neck, kissing him again, and Angel's eyes snapped open when he felt her lightly nip his skin with her teeth.

"Did you just…bite me?" Angel asked, laughter in his voice.

Buffy looked at him and giggled. "Do you like that?"

Angel grinned. "You don't have to try so hard to seduce me."

"I just want to make this night perfect for you. 'Cause it sort of has to be, you know?"

"I have you. You're all I need to make this night perfect."

"Oh."

Angel leaned up slightly, pulling Buffy back down to him and pressed his lips to hers. He cradled her face in his hands, holding her to him until he remembered she had to breathe at some point.

Buffy moved to sit up again, and she smiled at Angel. She reached for the belt on her robe and carefully loosened the knot. The robe slightly opened, and a glimpse of flesh peaked out from underneath. Angel reached out to her, running his hands along the contours of her body, his hands coming to rest on her hips.

Buffy pushed the robe off her shoulders, letting the sleeves slide down her arms until it fell, then tossed the garment on the floor. She sat before him, exposed, and her heart was pounding so fast she was sure Angel could hear its frantic rhythm.

Angel pulled her down again and rolled her over until he was the one on top now. He placed a kiss on the flat of her stomach, then slowly worked his mouth and hands up her body.

His skin felt cool against hers, but his touch left a trail of fire in its wake. Buffy closed her eyes, trembling from his touch.

His tongue flicked over her scar, lingering there for a moment or two before he kissed it, and Buffy let out a little moan.

"I love when you kiss me there," she said softly.

He kissed her scar again, feeling the blood pumping just beneath the surface with his lips, then moved to seek her mouth once more.

"How about there?" he said against her lips.

Buffy just moaned, and Angel kissed her again, his tongue slightly parting her lips as he deepened the kiss.

She felt him suddenly pull away, and Buffy opened her eyes, mourning the temporary loss of his mouth, but relaxed when she realized what he was doing. She watched as he undid the drawstring to his pants. The effect she was having on him at the moment was quite noticeable.

"Feeling overdressed?" she teased.

He just smiled at her and shucked off his clothes, tossing them on the floor.

Buffy raised her knees and opened herself to him, stealing a cursory glance below his waist before he resumed his position, carefully easing his body over her again.

"I've thought about this so many times," Buffy said softly, looking up as she met his gaze. "What it would be like for us to make love again."

"I love you so much, Buffy."

Buffy touched his face, lightly brushing her hand against his smooth, freshly shaven cheek. "Just show me."

* * *

They sat downstairs waiting, all trying to occupy themselves with _something_. _Anything_ to pretend they couldn't hear the occasional moans coming from upstairs.

Willow and Tara sat on the floor amidst their circle of bones and exchanged glances, both trying to keep a straight face. Willow wished she had thought to warn Buffy. Her best friend wasn't necessarily the most quiet person when it came to sex. Being that they had been roommates in the dorm last semester and she and Riley were together for a while, Willow knew this.

"At least they're enjoying themselves," Tara whispered. "He must not be evil yet."

The rhythmic sound of a headboard banging against the wall reverberated from the ceiling above.

"Let's just hope they don't break the bed," Willow whispered back. "Then we might have trouble."

Wesley looked up towards the ceiling, unable to concentrate on his book.

"Well this is not at all awkward," Cordelia remarked sarcastically, throwing her magazine down on the table. "Do they not realize how loud they're being?"

"I don't think they really care," Tara said matter-of-factly.

"It sure is taking them a long time," Anya complained. "How long have they been up there anyway? Xander and I are usually finished in three minutes."

All eyes turned to Xander. He laughed nervously and stood behind his girlfriend. "Anya's only kidding. I can last much longer than that."

"Okay, sometimes four minutes," Anya corrected.

"Ahem," Wesley said, clearing his throat. "I believe this is what you Americans call 'TMI'?"

Xander, slightly embarrassed, walked around the couch and sank into the cushion. Truthfully, he didn't want to be here. The idea of Buffy upstairs doing _that_ with _him _had disturbed him to say the least. He almost didn't want to be a part of this at all, but the threat of Angelus getting let loose and hurting Buffy was too much for him to ignore. He knew he'd never forgive himself if he didn't at least try to protect her. So he stayed, but he didn't have to be happy about it. And if Willow and Tara's spell worked so that Angelus could never reappear again, then perhaps it would be worth the trouble.

"Buffy strikes me as a multiple orgasm kind of girl," Anya mused when the moaning upstairs began to escalate. "And Angel seems like the type who really enjoys foreplay. And oral sex. Oh, and definitely the bloodplay thing with him being a vampire and all."

Wesley, with his jaw to the floor, looked at Anya in utter shock. He had heard people say that young Americans often lacked proper etiquette compared to their British counterparts, but he was not prepared for this at all. "Does she always talk like this?" he asked the group.

"Anya says what's on her mind," Willow said, fidgeting with the amulets on the floor.

Wesley looked at Anya, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What?" Anya said, glaring at Wesley, for he was giving her that same look that Giles often did. "Oh please. Don't tell me you weren't thinking the same thing!"

* * *

Buffy bit her lower lip and raked her nails across his back, matching her movements to his in some sort of rhythmic dance their bodies seemed to know by heart.

This is how it should be. This was how it should always be.

_"Because more than ever I know how much I love you."_

Buffy opened her eyes, hearing Angel's voice, but he hadn't said a word. She closed her eyes again, seeing in her mind a memory rushing back to her.

She stood before Angel in an office, feeling what…anger towards him? Yes, but also sadness.

"_I just know that when you're around, whether I see you or not, I feel you. Inside. And it throws me."_

_"So let's just stick to the plan. We'll keep our distance until a lot of time has passed. Given enough time we should be able to..."  
_

"_Forget?"_

She remembered the Mohra demon crashing through the window. She'd seen that demon before! And there was something important about his blood…but what?"

Suddenly, Angel was kissing her on the pier in the sunlight.

"_I'm really sorry I kissed you like that."_

Angel was human.

"_It would be smart to wait a while. See if this mortal thing takes."_

He had been….human?

"_I'm so glad we didn't logic ourselves out of this. We'll make it work, right?"_

The image of them in bed flashed through her mind.

_"It's a good sound. Thump-thump. Thump-thump."_

_"It feels pretty amazing."_

"_I want to stay awake. So this day can keep happening."_

It was her dream. No, it hadn't been a dream. Was this actually a _memory_? But how could that be possible? Had Angel really been…_human?_

"_I went to see the Oracles. I asked them to turn me back."_

"_You saw what happened last night. If anything I'm a liability to you. You take chances to protect me, and that's not just bad for you, it's bad for the people we were meant to help."_

Buffy remembered now. It was true, but Angel had given it up.

"_The Oracles are giving us back the day, turning back time, so I can kill Mohra before his blood makes me mortal."_

Everything, the pain, the sadness, the truth in knowing it was the right decision, and yet, the feeling that it was also completely unfair, came rushing back to her.

"_How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?"_

The image of her hand on his chest was burned into her memory.

"_I felt your heart beat."_

She remembered the feel of Angel's lips upon hers, his strong arms wrapping around her, holding her tight.

_"I'll never forget. I'll never forget…"_

She hadn't forgotten. She remembered it all.

Angel collapsed over Buffy with a heavy groan, bringing her back to the present. He rolled over, reluctantly pulling himself away from his lover's embrace.

"Angel, I…" She wanted to tell him she remembered. She wanted to tell him she remembered that day, the one perfect day they shared when he was human, and that finally, all of her dreams made sense.

But the look in his eyes told her that now was not the time.

"Buffy, you better get the chains now."

"Right," she nodded, reluctantly getting out of bed. She'd have to talk to Angel about this later. For now, there were more pressing matters. She grabbed his pants and her robe from the pile on the floor and tossed the pants over to him. "Here, put these back on real quick before I chain you."

Buffy quickly slipped into her robe while Angel dressed as well. Wasting no more time, she grabbed the chains, snapping them shut around Angel's wrist as soon as he handed her his arm. She then moved to the other side of the bed and did the same with the other arm. After his arms were chained, she moved to the foot of the bed and chained his ankles.

"See, and you were worried about Angelus making an early appearance. He's not even here yet."

"He will be," Angel said, his tone serious. "Get the rest of the chains."

Angel knew it only took a moment of perfect happiness to make Angelus appear, and he'd clearly forgotten his anxiety over the spell and Angelus until now. Buffy had that effect on him.

Buffy thought it was unnecessary to chain his body too, since his arms and legs were already chained down, but Angel had insisted, wanting to take no chances. So she gathered the chains set out under the bed and went about strapping him down.

"How's that?" she asked. "Tight?"

Angel gave the chains a shake and tried to wiggle out of the ones holding him down. "Yeah, that's good."

Buffy walked back to the side of the bed and sat down beside him. "Are you okay?"

"For now. Buffy, don't listen to him, okay? He's only going to say things to hurt you. It's not me talking."

Buffy reached out and touched the side of his face. "I know that."

"Do you know how much I love you?"

Buffy smiled. "Of course I do. I'm your perfect happiness. It's sort of a given how much you love me."

"Buffy, if something goes wrong. If this is the last time we see each other…."

Buffy placed a finger over his lips. "No, don't talk like that. We'll see each other soon enough, and then we'll have many more nights just like this one. Without the chains, though. Unless of course you want them," she added with a mischievous grin. Then she kissed him.

Angel closed his eyes as he felt her lips brush lightly against his, relishing every moment of it. The fear that this could be their last kiss wasn't far from his mind. He hated to think that this would be their last moments together if this didn't work. He felt relieved to be in chains before Angelus' arrival, but Willow had told them the spell came with risks. He had no doubt in her abilities, but there was always the possibility that something could go wrong.

"You better go," Angel said when she pulled away. "It won't be long now."

Buffy nodded, gave the side of his face one more touch, then stood up. "I'll tell the others it's time."

* * *

A/N: YAY! After 54 chapters, Buffy and Angel _finally_ made love, lol. Oh yes, I know, I pulled the whole fade to black with Buffy and Angel during the love scene. I never said I was a great smut writer, lol. Pointless fluff is more my forte. Hope you liked it anyway, and if you didn't, I'm sure your imagination can fill the void. I mean, hey, you didn't just get Shirtless Angel. You got _Naked Angel_ too! LOL

Okay, so two major things happened in this chapter. Buffy and Angel made love, and in the middle of all that, yes, Buffy remembered _the day_! This _will_ get addressed in a later chapter, but obviously now is not the time, seeing as how Angel is all chained up after feeling happy which can only lead to one thing…

Until 55!


	55. The Spell

Buffy led the way as Wesley, Cordelia, Xander, and Anya followed behind. Willow and Tara were downstairs, waiting for the cue from Anya to start the spell.

"Is he…um…decent?" Wesley asked before they entered the bedroom.

Buffy gave Wesley a look. "Yes, of course."

"Is he…you know, 'grr' yet?" Cordelia asked.

"No, not yet."

In the bedroom, Angel was still there just as Buffy had left him moments ago.

"Angel?" Cordelia asked hesitantly.

"It's me, Cordy."

"How long does this usually take?" Wesley asked.

"It won't be long," Angel said, answering his question. "Wes, can you double check the chains for me? I'm sure Buffy got them tight enough but I just want to make sure."

Wesley walked over to the bed and examined the chains. "They look secure," he said confidently.

"So now what? We wait for Dead Boy to turn homicidal?" Xander asked, holding his crossbow in position so that he was fully prepared.

"Who gave Xander a crossbow?" Angel asked. Truth be told, Xander holding a crossbow unnerved him a little. He wasn't so sure Xander wouldn't be tempted to use it.

Buffy glared at Xander as she walked over to him and snatched the weapon away.

"What? Cordy and Wes have one!" Xander protested.

"Cordy and Wes know how to use one." Buffy traded the crossbow for a crucifix. "Here."

"Cordy doesn't know how to use a crossbow," Xander muttered.

"You want to test that theory, Harris?" Cordelia asked, aiming the weapon at him.

"Hey, don't point that thing at my boyfriend!" Anya said, glaring at her.

"No one's firing a crossbow," Buffy said, her voice full of authority. "It's just a precaution for your safety. In case something...goes wrong."

"Yes, so put that thing away!" Anya warned Cordelia.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, holding her weapon down. She wondered what Anya saw in Xander anyway, as well as herself at one time.

"Can we all concentrate, please?" Wesley implored. "This is a serious matter here. We need to focus."

"Wesley's right," Angel said. "You can't let your—" Angel winced in pain, "guard down for a…for a second. Not with…not with Angelus."

"Angel, are you okay?" Buffy asked, concerned. It was obvious Angel was in some sort of discomfort.

"I'm—" Angel groaned in pain. It was happening. _Oh no, it was happening._

Cordelia stared at Angel, looking just as panicked as Buffy. "Did it happen like this last time?"

Buffy shook her head. "I—I don't know. I didn't see it happen last time."

Angel groaned again, feeling the pain, the terrible pain of his soul being ripped from his being. It hurt…it hurt so bad. More than last time. This pain…dear god, why wouldn't it stop? "Oh god…"

"Angel?"

"Buffy!"

Buffy quickly rushed to his side. "Angel!" Buffy wasn't sure if this was supposed to happen. He was in so much pain. Was he supposed to be in pain like this? She didn't know. She brushed her hand against his forehead. "Angel? Are you alright?"

He looked up, and oddly, smiled. "I'm just fine. Hello, lover."

* * *

Downstairs, Willow and Tara waited. They sat on the floor, legs crossed, in the middle of a circle of bones and candles with the Orb of Thesula between them.

"What do you think is going on up there?" Tara asked.

"My guess is Angel is all chained up. Head to toe. Arms, legs, and a big chain strapping him down for good measure."

"Is all of that really necessary?"

"You never met Angelus. Trust me, it's necessary."

"_Buffy!"_

Willow looked up, worried. "That sounded like Angel."

"It sounds like he's hurt. Do you think…do you think something's wrong?"

"Either that or—"

"Do the spell! Do the spell!" Anya shouted, running down the stairs.

It was time. Willow and Tara focused and began to chant.

* * *

Buffy felt a chill run down her spine. _Angelus._

"Did you miss me, Slayer?"

Buffy slowly backed away from him, feeling the cold stare in his eyes that had moments ago looked at her with love. Buffy had told herself it would be easier to face him this time. He was chained to the bed; he couldn't hurt her. But looking into the eyes of the monster before her reminded her of a time two years ago. It had been the worst time of her life, and Buffy would have been grateful if her memory had blocked that time instead.

"What's going on here?" Angelus asked, looking around the room and giving his chains a good shake. "Chains? An audience? Well, that's new. You getting kinky on me, Slayer?" Angelus laughed.

Buffy stood back, arms crossed, trying to keep her cool.

"You know what? I have to say, that was surprisingly…_intense."_ He stared at Buffy, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Maybe I was wrong about you. That first time, you were so…I don't know. What's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, _virgin._" Angelus laughed. "You just laid there and made me do all the work. But this time…_wow_. I didn't have to teach you _anything._ Looks like the Slayer's been a naughty girl. She's learned some new moves in the sack."

"Shut up!" Buffy snapped, hating the way he made their lovemaking sound sinful and dirty.

"Oh, Angel! Angel! Yes! Yes! Oh god, yes!" Angelus roared in laughter. "I always did have for knack for pleasing the ladies in bed."

Buffy looked away, not wanting him to see the hurt in her eyes.

Angelus stared at her, smiling, and it occurred to him that he knew exactly what he wanted now. "You know, I think I've just changed my mind about you. I'm not going to kill you. I mean, I _am_ going to kill you, but I think I'll bring you back." Angelus smiled as he had the beginnings of a deliciously evil plan. "Yes, I'll bring you back, and you'll be my dark queen. Think of all the power we'll have. A slayer turned vampire, and the Scourge of Europe back again. We'll be unstoppable."

Xander, annoyed with the ranting of this homicidal maniac, couldn't stand it any longer. "Well good luck with that, Angelus. Seeing as how you're chained to the bed, it's going to be pretty hard for you to accomplish all of that."

Angelus turned to Xander and laughed. "You think I won't get out of here? I know what's going on downstairs with your little witches. You think you can do a little magic and get rid of me that easily? Well you can think again. I'm here to stay." He turned to look at Buffy. "And the Slayer will be mine."

Buffy took a seat in the corner chair, wanting some distance between them. She had expected Angelus would want to kill her. She had not expected he would want to turn her. Buffy shuddered at the thought.

"Don't tell me you don't want it, Slayer." Angelus grinned at her. "I know your secret," he whispered.

"My secret?" she asked, and immediately regretted engaging in more conversation with him.

"The mark on your neck? The one I put there? Remember when you told me how much you liked it? How it made you feel really good? You never thought it could be a pleasurable experience, did you?"

Buffy turned away, ashamed and not wanting to face him. Her fingers moved nervously, twisting the Claddagh ring around her finger.

"That frightens you. What would your friends think if they knew, huh? What would they say if they knew you, the _Slayer,_ enjoyed it, that letting a vampire drink from you was almost as pleasurable as tonight was?"

"Shut. Up."

Angelus laughed at her. "I hit a nerve? Did I open your eyes? Do you see what it could be like? You know, if you'd get me out of these damn chains, I'd be more than happy to make you feel that good again."

"Buffy, you don't have to take this," Cordelia said to her softly. "Why don't you wait outside?"

"No, I'm staying. I want to be here the moment Angelus is gone for good."

Angelus smiled, realizing he had more people to torment. "Cordy! Hey, how's that acting working out for you? Haven't got your big break yet? Oh well, that's the breaks!" Angelus laughed at his joke. "You were pretty terrible at it anyway. It's probably for the best you quit."

"That's okay. I found out I'm much better at other things," Cordelia said, her hands gripping the crossbow tightly.

Angelus turned his attention to Wesley. "Wesley, you're remarkably quiet. Are you going to keep cowering in that corner with your crossbow like a scared little girl?"

"You don't intimidate me," Wesley said, although on the inside, he was a little intimidated. This was the real Angelus he was speaking to, not simply some drug-induced form.

"Well good to know if things get out of hand and you have to _kill me_, you'll be ready with your crossbow!" Angelus mocked.

"It won't come to that, Angelus," Wesley said with a bit more confidence. "You won't be here for much longer."

"Oh is that so?"

Wesley nodded, "Yes, that's—" Before Wesley could finish what he was saying, the floor beneath him began to shake violently. "Oh dear. Is that a—"

"Earthquake!" Xander shouted.

Downstairs, Willow and Tara had been right in the middle of the incantation when the floor started to shake. They glanced at each other, saying with their eyes what they couldn't with their mouths. _This is not good._

In order for the spell to work, certain things had to be done at certain times, and if either of them lost their focus, it would be all for naught and they'd have to try again. Or worse case, the spell would only partially take, leaving Angel's soul trapped deep inside, unable to get out, and Angelus a permanent fixture, rather than the other way around. Angelus was the one who needed to be locked.

The heart pendant around Tara's neck began to glow, and Willow and Tara continued to chant despite the tremors. Meanwhile, Anya scrambled around their circle, relighting the candles that had toppled over and rearranging the bones that had shifted.

Back upstairs, things weren't much better. The furniture was jumping, the lights were blinking, and the roar of the great mansion shaking made a terrible noise. Everyone had to shout to be heard.

"This is a really bad time for an earthquake!" Cordelia complained, covering her head and bracing herself against the wall. She looked up at the ceiling and watched as the chandelier hanging from it swayed precariously.

"I guess the Powers forgot to give you the memo!" Xander yelled at her.

Angelus simply roared with more laughter. He was enjoying the ride.

Xander looked in horror as a wobbly bookshelf began to tilt forward with Buffy standing right in front of it.

"Buffy, come on! In the doorway!" Xander pulled Buffy to where it was safer. Seconds later, the bookcase came crashing down.

Buffy was oblivious to it all. Her attention was on one thing and one thing only. "But Angel!" she shouted, wiggling herself out of his grasp. "I have to keep him safe! He may be Angelus now, but that's Angel's body!" Buffy ran back into the bedroom. She had her eye on a rather large wall painting above the bed, which shook precariously on its hook.

"It's okay, Buff!" Xander said, trying to coax her back to the doorway. "It's probably not as heavy as it looks. It won't hurt him too much if it falls."

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Buffy cried, feeling hysterical. "The frame is made of _wood!"_

"The chains!" Wesley suddenly yelled from the closet doorway.

The bed had been shaking so violently that it seemed quite possible something could come loose. The end of the chains had been attached to the legs of the bed frame below, and at the moment, the bed was practically jumping off the floor. All Angelus needed was for one or two chains to become loose and he could break free, having the upper hand.

"We mustn't let them get loose!" Wesley warned as he rushed over and tried to hold the bed steady.

Cordelia looked up at the ceiling again, growing more concerned about the chandelier's unsteadiness. "Wesley, no! That chandelier might fall and kill you!"

"If Angelus is loose, he might kill _you_!" Wesley shouted back.

Fortunately at that very moment, the ground stopped moving. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank god," Cordelia whispered.

"Woo! What a ride!" Angelus laughed. "You gotta love California!"

"Get the painting!" Buffy cried. "Someone please get the painting! There may be aftershocks and it won't hold much longer."

Xander and Wesley volunteered and carefully took the painting down.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Wow, thanks, Slayer," Angelus said, grinning ear to ear at Buffy. "Lots of sharp, pointy edges on that thing. You may have saved my life. That must mean I'm getting through to you."

"I only saved you to save him."

"He's my weaker half, and he's gone for good. I'm taking what's his. I'll make you mine, and soon enough, you won't even remem—" Angelus gasped loudly, feeling a sharp pain in his abdomen. His eyes glowed yellow.

"What's happening?" Cordelia asked.

But Buffy knew. She had seen this before.

Angel looked across the room, seeking Buffy. "Buffy?"

"Angel?" Buffy rushed over to his side.

He looked at her, his expression showing his confusion, then relief. "Buffy. I was so worried I'd never see you again."

Buffy placed her hand on his cheek. "I'm right here. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Thank god." Buffy leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. It felt so good to kiss him again, to kiss him and to know that her Angel was back for good now. She pulled away then, smiling at him. "I'm so happy to see you again too."

Angel gave his chains a little shake. "Can you…?"

Buffy wiped a tear from her eye with her finger. "Oh, of course." She reached for the key sitting on the nightstand and went about unlocking the chains.

"Wait. Are we sure this is really Angel?" Cordelia asked. "And not just Angelus pretending to be Angel?"

Angel gave Cordelia a smile. "It's really me, Cordy."

"Okay. Good. I'm just checking."

"Glad to have you back, Angel," Wesley said. He walked over to the bed, assisting Buffy with removing the chains that held Angel down.

"Listen, I'm really sorry if I said anything that hurt anybody."

"We know it wasn't really you speaking," Wesley said.

"Did it work, did it work?" Willow asked, running into the bedroom with Tara and Anya on her heels.

Buffy looked at Willow and smiled. "It worked."

Willow and Tara squealed and hugged each other excitedly.

"I can't believe there was an earthquake in the middle of all that!" Willow said, laughing. "Never a dull moment in Sunnydale, huh?"

"There was an earthquake?" Angel asked, confused because he didn't remember an earthquake. Looking around, he noticed for the first time the room's disarray, with books and candles scattered everywhere on the floor, and the bookcase near his bed toppled over. "Well at least I didn't do this," Angel said, relieved.

"Willow and Tara were _amazing_!" Anya said, beaming. "They just kept chanting through the entire thing! The ground was shaking and it was as if they didn't even notice!"

"Oh I noticed it," Willow said. "Just had to try a little harder to keep focus, that's all."

"Anya was pretty amazing too," Tara said. "Thanks for the help down there."

Anya shrugged. "It was no problem."

"Thanks for all your help, everyone," Angel said, looking at the group. "I know it wasn't easy to do this, but the fact that you all wanted to help really means a lot to me."

"Well we couldn't let you be all 'grr' anymore, you know?" Cordelia said, smiling. "I mean, except when you want to, of course. Not like Angelus! I mean, you know, when you put your game face on to scare some demon in the sewer?"

Wesley laughed at Cordelia's rambling. "I think he understands, Cordelia."

"The same goes for me," Buffy said, smiling at the group. "Thanks so much, everyone."

"You're welcome, Buffy," Willow said, smiling back at her.

"Hey, Xander?"

Xander looked at Angel, surprised that he would address him specifically. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for looking out for Buffy." He was starting to get back his memory of the last few minutes, and the image of the bookcase almost crashing down on Buffy and Xander pulling her out of harm's way wasn't far from his mind.

"I always look out for her. And I'm glad you're not…_completely_ evil anymore."

Angel didn't miss the implied meaning. Xander would probably never think he was good enough, but for now, he respected Xander a little more. He only had Buffy's safety in mind, and who could blame him for that?

"Xander, can we go home now?" Anya asked. "All of these chains and manacles are making me think of bondage games. Which makes me think of sex. It's kind of turning me on."

Xander was a little surprised. "Really?"

Anya nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes. Maybe when we get home, I'll let you tie me up, and you could have your way with me. Or I could tie you up, and you could let me have my way with you."

"Uh, guys…" Xander looked nervously around the room. "We're going to go ahead and uh….See you later!" Xander ran out of the room with Anya right behind him.

Two seconds later, Anya came running back in. She grabbed a pair of manacles lying on the floor. "Just going to borrow these," she explained. "There's a key to these things, right?"

Buffy, without a word, held out the key still in her hand and placed it into Anya's palm.

"I don't want to be chained to the bed forever. I don't like sex that much." With that, Anya was out the door again.

Wesley shook his head. "What a very strange girl that is. Well, I suppose I should give Mr. Giles a call and let him know of the evening's success. And see if he's alright, too. That earthquake was quite alarming." Wesley nodded to everyone. "Well, goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight."

"Well, I guess I'm getting kind of tired myself," Willow said.

"And it's late," Tara added.

"And I'm sure Buffy and Angel want to get uh…reacquainted again," Willow said, winking at Buffy.

Buffy just smiled. She had every intention of doing just that.

"Well I'm not staying here for round two," Cordelia said as she left the room.

"See you lovebirds in the morning," Willow said.

Tara was the last to leave. She gave a little wave as she closed the door. "Goodnight."

Buffy smiled at Angel. "Oh good. Alone at—"

The bedroom door suddenly opened again and Willow popped her head in. "Oh, and Buffy? Keep it down, okay?" Willow and Tara were giggling in the hallway as the door closed again.

Buffy's face turned a slight shade of red. "You don't think they heard us earlier, do you?"

"No, probably not," Angel said, reassuring her. Although now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure that they had.

"Good. Now, where were we?"

"Alone at last," Angel said, and closed the distance between them with a kiss.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this was one of my favorite chapters to write, which surprises me, because a fan of Angelus I am not. Oh I know, some of you like him because ooo he's so bad and all, but I hate it when sweet, nice Angel turns mean and nasty. So again, surprising that this was my favorite chapter to write. a

Oh, and the earthquake in the middle of all that? Totally my muse's idea. I take no credit for that lol. When I casually mentioned to myself that it would be a really bad time for an earthquake to happen, she tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You should have an earthquake happen." LOL. Totally plausible. It is California after all. Seriously though, it couldn't be all easy for them, and I had to create some sort of situation in which the spell could go awry or that Angelus could get lose. He wasn't chained up for nothing!

Next up…all happy, fun times! More happiness than Angel can stand, ha! Until 56…


	56. Afterglow

Across the room, the fire barely crackled as the last few embers died out.

Buffy laid curled up next to Angel, completely spent and lost in her thoughts.

Human. He had actually been _human._ Buffy was starting to remember more about that day, and now that she finally knew it was real, the memories would not stop.

Before all she had were dreams, just flashes of a beautiful, perfect day. But they weren't figments of her imagination. They were actually _memories._

She remembered the way Angel had taken her by surprise and kissed her, literally knocking the breath out of her on the pier that day. She hadn't even recovered from the shock of seeing him in the sunlight yet.

She felt her cheeks glow with embarrassment as she remembered the two of them making love on his kitchen table, in quite vivid detail actually. She had never done anything like that with anyone before, or at least not that she could remember, and the fact that she and Angel did surprised her.

She smiled as she remembered his joy in eating food, actually tasting human food, and enjoyed it herself as if it were her first time too. And had she actually _licked_ ice cream off his chest? Yes, she realized, apparently she did.

And this perfect day _wasn't_ _a dream_, she reminded herself again. She may not remember much of anything else that had happened in her life over the last year, but she certainly remembered this.

And while the memories made her smile, she felt sadness at the same time. Her dreams had not meant Shanshu after all. Maybe Angel had been right, and she'd never see it happen in her lifetime. She mourned for the loss of that little dream, for she so wanted to see Angel have his humanity granted back to him by the Powers. And not just for herself, but for him as well. He deserved living again after having his life taken from him, and hadn't he atoned enough for his sins? A small part of her wondered if he'd even want humanity at all, for he did give it up last time, sacrificing his own pleasure for the sake of nobility. But didn't he deserve a break? Hadn't Angel done enough good?

Well, she couldn't change any of that, and it didn't matter much at the moment anyway. Right now, Angel was in her life, vampire and all, and she would take him any way she could have him. All she wanted was him. Just him. To have him in her life again filled her with an incredible happiness, a sense of peace, and she finally felt complete. Buffy laughed inwardly at herself for having the thought. _She felt complete. _It sounded so corny, but now she knew what all of those sappy love songs were babbling about. Angel was truly like the other half of her heart, the yin to her yang, and now that he was back with her, she was whole again.

"What are you thinking?" Angel suddenly asked.

Buffy started to laugh. "Hey, isn't that supposed to be my line?"

"What?"

"You know, in the movies after the couple makes love, it's always the girl asking that question."

Angel laughed with her. "Well you haven't asked it yet. You're being so quiet. And besides, I really want to know."

Buffy snuggled closer to him, if even possible considering their proximity, and rested her hand over his chest. "I was just thinking that I feel so loved. And tingly. I still feel tingly all over."

"Me too," he said, placing a kiss on the side of her head.

"How are you feeling?"

"Perfect happiness," he whispered before kissing her again, this time on her lips.

Angel held her close, staring across the room. He felt a chill in the air, then noticed the dying fire. "I'll get the fire started again." He moved the covers away and started to stand.

Buffy sat up and watched his nude form move away from the bed and walk across the room. "I think you already have," she said in a husky voice.

Angel looked over his shoulder and gave her a smile.

Buffy just grinned at him wickedly.

He threw another log on the fire, and once it was roaring again, Angel joined her back in bed. "There, that should keep us warm."

"You cold?"

"Yes," he said as he held Buffy close to him. "But you do a much better job of keeping me warm."

"I'm a good blanket."

Angel laughed. "That you are. You could thaw out anything with your body heat."

"Does it bother you at all? Being cold all the time?"

Angel shook his head. "No. It's not so much the cold that bothers me. It's just that I prefer being warm."

Buffy couldn't help but think about the short time he had been human. His skin had been so warm, warmer than hers because he was much bigger. She'd remembered thinking he was the one that made the better blanket. Now the roles were reversed.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

Buffy ran her hand over his chest, tracing circles with her fingertips, wondering how she should tell him she remembered. "Earlier when we were making love, I…I remembered something."

"What did you remember?"

Buffy moved to sit up, taking the sheet with her. "That's the thing. What I remembered was…well, I think it was something that I wasn't supposed to remember at all."

Angel's look grew serious. He wondered if she meant…she couldn't mean that day, could she? "What did you remember, Buffy?"

"I remembered our perfect day. The one day you were human." Buffy looked at Angel, trying to read his expression. He seemed a little stunned, and for a brief moment, Buffy wondered if she was crazy. "It did really happen, right? I'm not making this up, am I? Because if I am, then my mind has a really cruel sense of humor."

"No, you're not making it up. That day did really happened, and yet, it didn't. I don't understand though. How do you remember?"

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I shouldn't. But I'd been having dreams about that day for a while, but that was all they were to me. Dreams. Just small snippets of you and me, together. I thought at first it was a prophetic dream, and that maybe it meant that whole Shanshu thing because I understood you were human. But now I know it wasn't a dream. It was real. I don't know how I remember that when I can hardly remember anything else. Maybe those Oracles underestimated the power of a slayer's mind. Or maybe I was always meant to remember. Who knows?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Mad?"

"I made that decision without consulting you. I'd understand if you'd be angry."

"Angel, I'm not mad at you. Sad for what we lost, sure. I'm not going to lie. But I understand why you did what you did. It was a completely noble and unselfish act. You put the safety of others, and me, before anything else, even before your own happiness. And that just makes me love you even more. You _are_ good, Angel. I know you don't always believe that, but why else would the Powers entrust you with keeping everyone safe?"

Angel smiled at her. "I can't believe you remembered that day."

"I told you I'd never forget, didn't I? Although it took me a while to finally remember it, but I did."

"I feel bad that I didn't keep my promise to you. I promised you another day like that."

"No, don't feel that way. Yes, I liked feeling normal for one night, but I've accepted that I'll never have a normal life. Nothing about my life has ever been normal since I became what I am. Besides, all I really want is you. Just you. And if you become human someday and I'm around to see it? Then that'll be just gravy."

Angel grinned. "So tell me again what you want?"

Buffy smiled. "You. Just you."

"Do you know what I want right now?"

Buffy moved over until she was laying on top of him. "I think I have a pretty good idea…" she said right before she moved in for a kiss.

* * *

Willow awoke with a start and sat up in bed. The nightmare she'd been having felt all too real, and it filled her with a deep sense of dread and worry.

Tara, sensing Willow's movement, opened her eyes. "Willow? Are you okay?" The room was dark, but Tara could make out the whites of her eyes looking back at her. Willow was worried about something.

"What if the spell didn't work?"

"What are you talking about? Of course it worked. Angel was fine."

"I know. But what if it wore off or something?"

"It's not supposed to wear off. Not unless Angel stops loving Buffy, which is doubtful."

"But still, what if something went wrong? What if we didn't do it right? What if Angel turned into Angelus sometime in the middle of the night? We didn't check on them again. What if Buffy's hurt and no one even knows it?"

"It didn't sound like Buffy was in pain last night," Tara said with a giggle. When she realized Willow was serious, Tara stopped laughing. "Look, I'm sure everything is fine. You don't have any reason to worry."

"There's no way that spell could have been that easy. Something had to go wrong."

Tara placed her hand over Willow's. "Hey, stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. The spell went fine. And besides, if Angelus made an appearance, wouldn't every one of us here be dead by now? At least from what you told me about him…"

"Not if he decided to leave in the middle of the night. What if Buffy wakes up and he's not there? It'll be like the last time all over again! Tara, what have we done?"

"Willow, stop worrying. I'm sure everything is fine."

Willow sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't worry."

"You still want to go check on them."

Willow nodded eagerly. "Yes." She stood to her feet and grabbed her robe and put on her slippers. Two seconds later, she was at the door, Tara right behind her.

Together, they crept down the hallway, being mindful not to bump into each other or any furniture along the way.

"Wait," Tara whispered once they were outside Buffy's and Angel's door. "What if they're…_you know_?"

Willow shook her head. "No, it's six in the morning. They should be worn out by now." Willow reached for the doorknob, then hesitated. "Well, just in case." She placed her ear next to the door, listening for any sounds coming from inside.

"Anything?" Tara whispered.

"No. It's quiet." Assured that Buffy and Angel must be sleeping, hoping at least anyway, Willow turned the doorknob and took a peek inside.

The room was awash with faint light from the dying fire. Over on the bed, Willow saw the two in each other's arms, and apparently, sound asleep. Willow let out the air she'd been holding, then quietly closed the door again.

"Okay?" Tara asked.

"Yeah. They're fine. Just like you said. You were right."

"Good."

"I just had to make sure," she explained.

"I know. So…back to bed now?"

"Yeah." Willow followed Tara back down the hallway. Knowing that Buffy was going to be okay, she could finally go back to sleep.

* * *

Angel shifted slightly in the bed and his eyes slowly opened.

"Good morning," Buffy said.

"Yes, it is a good morning," Angel said as he pulled Buffy closer to him so he could give her a morning kiss. He then touched her face, staring at Buffy for a moment. "You're so beautiful."

"There it is again. I'm never going to get tired of seeing that."

"Seeing what?"

"You smile. You have the most beautiful smile. I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before."

"That's because I've never been this happy before. You make me happy, Buffy."

"I kind of figured that," she said, laughter in her voice as she kissed him again.

Angel reached for her small hand with his large one, feeling the warmth of her palm against the cool of his own skin. "I'm sorry, Buffy."

Buffy smiled at him. "Sorry? For what? Giving me the greatest pleasure I've ever experienced in my life last night?"

Angel smiled back at her. "No, I'm not sorry for that at all. I'm sorry I gave up on us before. If I had known a year ago that I would be as happy as I am right now with you…"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay. I hate knowing I hurt you. I'm sorry for that, Buffy."

"And I'm telling you that it's alright. I forgive you. Besides, I think it was all sort of meant to happen this way."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Think of all the people you helped in L.A. Think of how their lives have changed, have been made better, because of you. Even Cordelia. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm actually starting to like her as a person."

Angel laughed. "She has changed a lot, hasn't she?"

"The point I'm making is that maybe we needed some time apart, you know? Some time to grow, or at least me anyway. You're way older and have probably done enough growing in your lifetime. Maybe time to reevaluate is more accurate. But I love you, and I forgive you. And I think the very fact that we've faced so many obstacles between us and come out on top in the end every time, I think that says a lot about how strong our relationship is. And you're not going anywhere this time, right?"

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away," he whispered.

Buffy nuzzled closer to Angel, resting her head against his neck. "Me neither."

* * *

Cordelia yawned as she made her way into the kitchen. "Coffee. I need coffee."

"There's some left in the pot," Willow said.

Cordelia poured herself a cup and joined Willow and Tara at the kitchen table. "I didn't get any sleep last night."

"Was it the excessive moaning?" Tara asked.

"No, not so much the moaning, but I swear that headboard is going to bore a hole through the wall if they keep this up. Hey, speaking of last night…how come you two look so rested?"

"We had earplugs," Willow admitted.

"Wow, thanks for sharing them with the rest of us," Cordelia said sarcastically. "So have those two come up for air yet?" Cordelia looked up towards the direction of Angel's bedroom.

Tara shook her head. "No, not yet."

"Good morning," Anya said as she walked into the kitchen. "The door was open so I let myself in."

"Hey, Anya," Willow said.

"Xander had to go to work, and I was on the way to work myself, but I'd thought I'd stop by and drop these off first." Anya held up the manacles she'd taken the night before and placed them on the table.

Tara looked up at Anya and grinned. "So uh…did you have a good night, Anya?"

"Oh it was great. It was better than great. First we did me, then we did him, then me again. The sex was unbelievable. Except when it was my turn again Xander fell asleep in the middle of it and I had a hell of a time waking him up to unchain me."

"That was probably more information than I wanted to know," Tara said softly.

"Ugh, everyone is having sex except me," Cordelia muttered as she stood up from the table and walked out of the room.

Anya took the seat Cordelia had vacated. "So what are we girls talking about this morning?"

"The lovebirds," Willow said.

Tara cleared her throat. "Buffy's coming."

Buffy walked into the kitchen and stared at the three of them. She was sure they had just been talking about her considering how quiet everyone suddenly got, but decided to let it go. "Good morning."

"Hey, Buffy. Did you sleep well?" Willow asked with a smile.

"Oh please, it's doubtful she got any sleep," Anya remarked. "Look at her. She can't even walk straight."

Buffy turned away, feeling her face turn red, and occupied herself with getting a mug out of the cabinet. She was still getting use to Anya's quite literal way of talking, and she decided that it would be best to ignore it. "Yes, Willow, I slept well." _When she actually slept, that is._

Buffy poured herself some coffee from the pot and joined the girls at the table.

"So how many times did you do it?" Anya asked. When everyone stared at her, she felt the need to defend herself. "What? I'm just curious. I heard vampires have a lot of stamina when it comes to that department. Spike told me that one time."

It wasn't only vampires who had stamina, Buffy thought to herself.

"Anya, that's not really any of our…" Willow started, wanting to say it wasn't any of their business, but the curiosity got the best of her too. "Say, how many times did you get lucky anyway?" she asked, grinning wickedly.

Buffy looked around at the girls, smiling sheepishly. "I kind of lost track."

"See? I told you they have stamina," Anya said, as if this proved her point.

"Hey, where is Angel anyway?" Willow asked, looking around, for she hadn't seen him come down with Buffy.

"Asleep again. I think I finally wore him out," Buffy admitted.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I know I said the last chapter was probably my favorite to write, but I love this one just as much. :)

I decided that I didn't want Buffy to be angry at Angel about the lost day. Is she disappointed? Yes, of course. Was she upset initially? Yes, we know she was. But if you think about it, as much as we hate the decision Angel made and how he went about making that decision without Buffy's input, he made that decision because he thought it was the right one. Completely selfless and noble, and not many people would make such a sacrifice for the sake of others. So no, Buffy is not mad at him. But of course, she gets to have Angel now without worrying about him losing his soul, so I'm sure that helps cushion the blow a bit….ha. Let's face it, had she remembered and she knew she and Angel couldn't be together in every sense of the word, yeah, she probably would be really mad, lol.

I haven't really addressed _why_ Buffy remembered "the day". Mostly, I just wanted Buffy to remember because I thought it was really unfair that she couldn't. Also, I'd like to think that Buffy and Angel's love is so strong that it overcomes all obstacles, and thus, she remembered something she really wasn't supposed to remember in the first place. I might touch on this subject later, but for now, that's why I wanted her to remember.

Okay, one more thing…don't be alarmed if the next update takes a little longer for me to post. First of all, I'm going on a much needed vacation, one that will actually require the use of sunscreen, a bathing suit, and a passport. I'M SO EXCITED! :D

Second of all, I need to hammer out some plot issues that have recently crept up. I'm sure that once my muse and I get back from vacation, we'll be ready to tackle the remaining chapters. I know this story is insanely long, but believe it or not, it's actually starting to wind down. I'm not sure exactly how many chapters I have left to go, depending on if I make some chapters longer or add a few more, but it'll probably be around 10-12.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll be back in couple of weeks! :)

(Actually, I'm not leaving until this weekend, so I'll still be around for a few more days, but my muse is already halfway to the airport. LOL!)


	57. No More Brooding

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back! I'm very sorry for such a long delay! Hopefully you still remember me? :)**

**So, I've had a horrible case of writer's block, hence the reason I haven't updated in over a month. :( My poor muse was overworked and underpaid…er, not paid at all I mean. But your reviews have been wonderful! I know I've lost a few readers along the way, probably because this story is insanely long and I've been working on it for like two years now, but to those of you out there still reading and to all of my new readers…I'm so glad you're hanging in there with me and I'm glad you're enjoying it! And thank you!**

**Okay, enough of me babbling on…sorry about that. But I'm just so excited to be posting again! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Willow sat crossed legged on the couch opposite of Buffy, taking in everything she'd told her about Angel's brief humanity. "He was…_human. _Wow. That's…wow."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, I know. I can't believe all this time, I thought it was just a dream. But it was real."

"Are you mad he gave it up? I think I'd be mad."

Buffy shook her head. "No. I mean, I was upset at the time, sure. But I understood his reasons. And besides, now? It doesn't even matter. I'm so happy, Will. For the first time since I found out my mom was gone, I finally feel like I can be happy again. How can I ever thank you?"

"You don't have to thank me, Buffy."

"But I do. What you've done for me, and for Angel. It's so amazing. You're such a good person, Willow. All you ever do is give and give. You've always there for your friends. How could I even begin to thank you?"

Willow smiled. "Don't you know, Buffy? If anyone should be doing the thanking here, it's me. You've come through for me so many times. I can't even count the number of times you saved my life. This is just my way of saying 'thanks'."

"I love you, Will. What would I do without you?" Buffy leaned forward, hugging Willow.

"Let's hope you never have to find out," Willow whispered.

* * *

Maleficus ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he watched the sphere of light circle the map. For days, he had attempted to track the slayer's whereabouts, and every effort had thus, failed.

It was those _witches_, he concluded. He knew the slayer had a close relationship with the witches, but he had not realized the women had such power. And that was never a good thing.

He'd have to put an end to that.

He especially didn't appreciate being made to look like a fool. The last time he'd let that happen, it had cost him his life, and he wasn't about to let history repeat itself, not when he was so close to getting everything he wanted.

He wondered what happened to the days when the slayer fought alone. Things had been so simple back then.

The sphere of light above the map disintegrated, and once again, the tracking spell had failed. Maleficus screamed in rage as he reached for the edge of the table and toppled it over.

At the sound of the commotion, one of his minions timidly entered the cavern. "Is there a problem, Maleficus?"

Maleficus stared at the demon and chuckled. "Is there a problem? Is there a _problem?_ _Yes, there's a problem!"_ He reached for his chair, picking it up and throwing it against the cavern wall, causing the demon to duck the hurled object. "It's those damned witches! That's the problem!"

"Is there anything I can do?"

Maleficus paused for a moment, considering his options. "Find out who these witches are. I want to know who they are and what kind of power they have."

The demon nodded and scurried out of the cavern, and Maleficus smiled, a plan forming in his mind. Getting rid of the slayer would be easier once the witches were out of the picture.

* * *

Angel stared into the fire and moved the hot embers around with the poker.

Buffy had gone downstairs some time ago, and now that he was alone, he couldn't help but think of last night and of the brief time he was…_him._ He flinched as he remembered some of the things he said.

_Maybe I was wrong about you. That first time, you were so…I don't know. What's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah_, _virgin._

_I'll bring you back, and you'll be my dark queen. Think of all the power we'll have. A slayer turned vampire, and the Scourge of Europe back again. __We'll be unstoppable._

He heard the sound of the door opening, and a few moments later, a pair of familiar arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

"Hi," she whispered, kissing his cheek.

Angel looked up, giving her a half-hearted smile. "Hey."

"I'm glad you're awake. I brought you some blood." Buffy placed the mug with the steaming, red liquid on the hearth.

"Thank you."

Buffy moved around him and sat in his lap. "Uh oh. I know that look."

"What look?"

"You're brooding. What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking of some of the things I said last night. When I was…you know."

"That wasn't you talking."

"I know. Logically, I know that. But I still feel like I need to apologize for it. He made our love sound so dirty and…wrong. He said he wanted to kill you and make you his. The thought of that happening—"

"Shh," Buffy said, placing a finger over his lip. "You don't have to think about this anymore. You know why?"

"Why?"

Buffy smiled. "Because he's gone. He's gone forever, and you don't ever have to worry about Angelus again."

"I wish you hadn't stayed to see him. I hated you seeing me like that again, knowing what it must have reminded you of."

"I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay and watch his cold eyes return to your warm, loving ones. I wanted to stay so that I could watch him go away, and to know that he'll never come between us again."

"Well, all the same, I'm sorry."

"Apology _not_ accepted, because you have nothing to be sorry for. Okay? And furthermore, there's no point in being upset about it because we have some more celebrating to do. In fact, I think we should have a date night tonight, just like old times. Want to?"

This brought a smile to Angel's face. "I'd love to."

"So no more brooding?" Buffy asked.

"No more brooding."

Buffy grinned. "Good. So, you want to go back to bed?"

* * *

In his sleep, Angel reached out for Buffy. Upon realizing she was not in the bed with him, he opened his eyes, frowning. Buffy was nowhere in sight.

Seconds later, her heard the bathroom door open, and he smiled as she walked out. She'd obviously been up for a while as she was already dressed, her makeup was on, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Where are you going?"

Buffy turned to Angel, smiling. "You're awake." Buffy sauntered over to the bed and sat on the edge, hovering over him. "You've been asleep for hours. Almost like you were dead or something." She said this with a teasing grin, then leaned forward to kiss him. "I guess I really did wear you out."

The corner of Angel's lip turned upward. "Well you do have a strong effect on me."

Buffy leaned forward to give him another kiss.

"Where are you going?" Angel asked again.

"I called Faith. I thought maybe the two of us could talk." Buffy moved until her mouth was just barely touching his, aimed to kiss him again. "But I could…call and…cancel," she whispered between kisses.

"No, don't do that. You should talk to Faith."

Buffy pulled away. He was right. "Okay."

"Besides, I think I'm just going to rest here for a while longer anyway."

"Hey, we're still on for our date tonight, right?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

"Okay, good. One more." Buffy leaned forward, pressing her lips to his again. "See you later?"

Angel nodded. "I love you."

Buffy smiled, knowing she'd never get tired of hearing those three little words. "I love you too."

* * *

Faith ran her finger along the smooth edge of the broadsword. She hadn't expected to find weapons stored back here, but she supposed it made sense if Buffy was a slayer. After all, slayers didn't just kill vampires, and a stake wouldn't kill every demon.

"It's an 18th century broadsword," said an unfamiliar, yet distinctly British voice.

The voice startled her, but Faith quickly regained her composure, turning to the stranger. "Pretty fierce weapon. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of those things."

The strange British man stared at her for a moment longer, and Faith felt the need to explain herself. "Buffy told me to meet her here. There was no one in the shop so I just wandered back here. Are you Giles?"

Giles straightened his glasses. "I am."

"Okay, so good. I'm in the right place. What is this place anyway?"

"The shop?"

"No, this room. Is it an exercise room or does Buffy practice gymnastics on the side?"

"It's a training room. I designed it for Buffy. As her watcher, it's my duty to make sure she she's always at the top of her game."

"You're a watcher?"

Giles caught the look of wary in her face. "Former watcher, actually. Although I suppose I'll always consider myself Buffy's watcher."

"Spike told me about the watcher guys that tried to kill me."

"It's unfortunate, but many of the members of the Watchers Council are an unsavory lot who don't abide by any code of ethics, one of the reasons I left. Other than being fired, of course."

"Faith?"

Faith looked behind Giles, seeing Buffy standing in the doorway. "Hey, B."

Giles turned around, giving her a smile. "Buffy. I'm glad to see you in one piece. I was worried about you last night."

"I told you everything would be okay. See? I'm just fine."

Giles smiled. "You can't blame me for being worried about you."

"I know, and I love you for it. But I'm big girl, Giles. And I'm okay."

"Well it's good to finally see that for myself. I'll uh…let you two talk."

Giles gave the girls a smile, the exited the room.

"What was that all about?" Faith asked.

"Oh, long story. Giles is sort of like a second dad to me, and he worries twice as much."

"Sounds like you had quite a night."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"So Giles was telling me this is your training room?"

"Yeah. Giles has been drilling into me since I was sixteen that I always have to hone my reflexes, and training is the way to do it. Sometimes Angel and I spar here. And sometimes Giles dresses up like the Marshmallow Man and I beat him up."

Faith laughed. "'The Marshmallow Man?' It's weird the things I _can_ remember, and the Marshmallow Man is one of them."

"You can, you know, use this room too. If you want. I mean, you probably should. You're a slayer too."

"That'd be cool." Faith wandered around the room, tapping the punching bag lightly. "So is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yeah, there is." Buffy sat down on the bench. "Look, I know it's been a while since we've been friends, and you can't remember anyway. But we have something in common. We're both slayers, and no one else can possibly know what that's like except for you."

"So far it's a pretty good gig," Faith said, sitting down beside Buffy. "It sure makes things interesting, I'll give you that."

"Interesting, yes."

"Aren't there more slayers?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, just us. Technically, there should only be one, but I sort of died. But only for a minute. I'm okay obviously."

"You died?"

"Drowned. I went up against this master vampire a few years ago. He nearly killed me, or he did actually I suppose, but my friend Xander saved me. CPR. Anyway, a minute of me being dead was apparently all it took to activate another slayer."

"Me?"

"Actually, no. Her name was Kendra. She was a good friend of mine, but she was killed. Line of duty. And several months later, you showed up."

"I'm sorry about your friend."

"Thanks."

"So now I guess there's always going to be two slayers?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm not sure. I kind of messed up the line when I died temporarily. Maybe when I die, another girl will be called. Or maybe it'll go back to just being one again, who knows? Sometimes I think it'd be cool if there were more slayers. It seems kind of silly that there should be just one slayer when you look at how many vampires and demons are out there."

"Yeah, we're sort of outnumbered."

"Definitely."

"So what's the deal with this vampire we're going up against? What was his name again? Maleficus?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. He's…different from other vamps."

"Yeah, Spike mentioned that."

"I should probably tell you the whole story. It's kind of long."

Faith shrugged. "I don't have anywhere I need to be."

"A couple of months ago, I had a run-in with him during a routine patrol. At first, he seemed like your ordinary vampire. Cocky, arrogant, dead set on killing me. But I quickly realized that he wasn't like the others at all. He started playing games with me. At first, he'd goad me into charging him, and before I could drive a stake into his chest, he'd vanish." Buffy snapped her fingers. "Just like that. He did that for a while. He thought it was really funny. I called him coward for not wanting to fight. That's when I realized he could fight, but dirty."

"What'd he do?"

"He put me under some kind of spell. I couldn't move. All I could do was stand there, frozen in one spot. Then out of nowhere, these four hardcore vamps came after me, his minions or whatever, and he ordered them to kill me. They were strong, a lot like the vamps from the Bronze the other night. Under normal circumstances, I could take them on, but I was paralyzed, and I couldn't do a thing. I don't remember much after that. I hit my head on one of the gravestones and blacked out."

"How does a vampire paralyze you?"

"Magic. He's a vampire, but he used to be a warlock. I guess he still sort of is. The point is, he's dangerous. That's why we had to get out of the Bronze so quickly."

"So how do you kill a vampire like that?"

"We have a plan. Willow and Tara? They're working on a spell to counteract his magic, making it so that he can't use any magic at all. Once that happens, I'll be able to kill him."

"Sounds complicated. Not the killing part, but all the magic whatever."

"It is."

"So when does this all go down?"

"In two weeks. It'll be a full moon."

"Why wait until then? Why can't we just take him out tonight?"

"You've heard of the hellmouth, right?"

"I've heard it mentioned. Is that just what you call this place or is there an actual mouth to hell?"

"There's an actual mouth to hell. Okay, maybe not actually _Hell_, but close enough. Have you seen the high school?"

"Yeah, looks demolished."

"That's where it is. Under the ground to be more precise."

"So like, the ground literally opens or what?"

"Yeah, exactly. Long story short, every now and then, some demon or vampire comes along and tries to open it, thus releasing all kinds of mean and nasties. Maleficus is planning on opening it the night of the full moon, but we've got a plan to permanently close the damn thing. It'll be better for us in the long run, but we have to wait until it's actually open before we can do it."

"I feel like I woke up from my coma and landed in some bizzarro land or something," Faith said with a laugh.

"Welcome to life on the hellmouth." Buffy stood to her feet, glancing around the room. "Wanna spar for a while? I mean, I could spar with Giles, but it's just not the same going up against the Marshmallow Man."

A smile came across Faith's face. "Sure." She stood to her feet, shucked off her leather jacket, and set it down over the bench.

"You wear that jacket all the time?"

"I like it. I leave without it, I almost feel naked."

Buffy held up her fists in a fighting stance as Faith joined her on the mat, holding up her own fists. They circled each other for a while, both daring the other to make the first move, and Buffy finally did.

Faith blocked the punch and threw one of her own, and Buffy ducked to avoid the hit. They continued on for several minutes, one throwing a punch, the other effectively blocking the hit.

Buffy swung her leg over, but Faith ducked, dodging the move.

Finally, Faith saw her opening and returned the gesture, sending Buffy flying back. She landed with a thud on the mat.

"Sorry about that," Faith apologized, offering her hand to help Buffy up. "I guess I don't know my own strength. Are you okay?"

Buffy laughed. "I'm fine. You know, for someone who's been out of commission for just over a year, you haven't lost your touch at all. That was really good."

"It's weird. I can't remember being a slayer, and yet, being a slayer sort of comes naturally."

Buffy smiled. "It's who you are."

"Yeah. I can't remember, but it's good to know who I am. Spike's helped a lot too. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I'd know about being a slayer at all."

"You would have known you were different eventually."

"Yeah, if the nightmares of crazy demons aren't enough to convince me. Does that happen all the time to you too?"

"Sometimes. It gets easier after a while. Now come on, show me that move again. This time I'm going to try not to let you kick my ass."

* * *

Angel leaned against the doorway and smiled, watching the two unnoticed.

Buffy delivered a roundhouse kick, sending Faith tumbling down on the mat. Faith was back up in a matter of seconds, not missing a beat. Faith threw a punch, which Buffy effectively blocked.

After several more minutes of sparring, Buffy finally glanced in his direction.

Faith paused, wondering what had Buffy's attention, and watched as Buffy skipped over to him.

"Hi." Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist, then stood on her tiptoes to greet him with a kiss.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here so early?"

Angel smiled. "I'm not here early."

Buffy reached for his arm and rolled up his sleeve, checking the time on his wristwatch. "Oh wow. I didn't realize the time. Faith and I were sparring for a while."

"I saw. You look good." Angel looked over her shoulder. "Hi, Faith."

"Hey, Angel."

"So I was thinking about what we should do tonight. You want to watch a movie and then go out for some ice cream?"

Angel frowned. "I'm afraid that's going to have to wait."

"Why?"

"Wesley's called a meeting."

"Is there something wrong?"

Angel shrugged. "I'm not sure. Everyone's here. The meeting is about to start."

"So much for date night," Buffy said with a pout. "Faith, why don't you come out and meet everyone? Or rather…meet again I suppose."

Faith shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Faith grabbed her jacket from the bench and followed them to the other room.

Sitting around the table, Faith noticed a few familiar, and a few not so familiar faces. There was Willow, she recognized, and the blonde girl she'd seen at her table that night at the Bronze, who she presumed was Tara. The brunette she was sure she had seen at the Bronze too, but had never spoken to her. The guy with the scowl on his face, she remembered from the hospital. Everyone else seemed like a stranger.

Standing in front of the table was a man with brown hair and glasses, and he smiled at her when Buffy led Faith over to him.

"Faith, this is Wesley. He used to be your watcher. Mine too actually for a while."

"Hello again, Faith," Wesley said, offering his hand to shake as a polite gesture.

"Another member of a British Invasion."

Wesley gave her a look of confusion.

"I just mean that it seems like Sunnydale has an unusual population of people with British accents."

Wesley nodded and smiled. "That is true I suppose."

Buffy took Faith's arm, leading her to the group at the table. "You met Giles earlier. And this is Willow of course, which you've met. And this is Tara."

Tara waved. "Hi."

"Hey."

"Over here is Xander. You knew him from before."

"Yeah, I kind of figured I did. Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I'd sort of like to start over if we could."

Xander glanced at Buffy, who gave him a stern look, then returned his gaze to Faith. "Okay, sure."

"And this is Anya," Buffy said, indicating the girl sitting next to Xander. "I can't remember if you two met before or not. And that's Cordelia. You knew her from before too."

Faith gave a little wave to them both. "Hi."

"Hi, Faith," Cordelia said.

Anya looked Faith up and down, eyeing her suspiciously. "I trust you'll stay away from my Xander."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Not this again. Look, I'm not going to try to hurt anyone."

"I wasn't talking about hurting him. I was talking about having sex with him."

Faith laughed, half from shock, half from embarrassment. "What?"

"An!"

"Xander, it's no big deal. I know you slept with her once. I just want to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Definitely not happening again," Xander said, shooting daggers at Faith, then turning back to Anya. "Wait, who told you?"

"Well this is pretty awkward," Faith muttered. "I think I'm going to go."

"Wait, don't you want to stay for our meeting?" Buffy asked. "It sort of concerns you too."

Faith shook her head. "Nah, that's okay. I'm not really one for sitting down and listening to a bunch of people talk. Why don't you give me the Cliff's Notes version later?"

Buffy nodded. "Alright. I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, I'll see ya. I'm glad we got to talk." Faith smiled at her, and Buffy watched as she walked out of the shop.

"Shall we get started?" Wesley asked, standing at the front with a giant dry erase board at his disposal, and Buffy and Angel each took a seat.

"I've taken the liberty of studying the various demon populations that have been gathering in Sunnydale for the past several months. I think you'll be very interested in my findings."

Wesley uncapped a black marker, dropping the cap in the process. It rolled under the table next to Tara's foot. She picked it up for him.

"Thank you." Wesley began drawing something that resembled a maze on the board. "Sunnydale has a very large infrastructure of sewer tunnels underground. And as you know, we believe this area here…" Wesley drew a large section set aside, "is where Maleficus' lair is located. And of course, the ruins of the high school are here." Wesley drew a square above the sewer tunnels to represent the school, then drew a few crude figures within the tunnels. "And this, of course, is the Hellmouth."

"What's are those things in the tunnels supposed to be?" Xander asked.

"Demons. I think it's important to understand where these demons will be, how they fight, and what we can expect from them on the night of August 15th. Now, let's start with the most troublesome demons. First, the Polgara…"

* * *

Buffy's chin rested in her hand, a feeble attempt to keep her head up as Wesley droned on.

Across the table, she spotted Cordelia yawning, and then yawned herself. Buffy pondered why yawning was so contagious, and smiled when she saw Xander stifling a yawn as well. Anya made no attempt to hide her boredom at all, snoring softly against Xander's shoulder.

"Buffy?"

Buffy turned at the mention of her name, seeing Giles staring at her. "I'm sorry, what, Giles?"

"Wasn't this the demon you encountered in the woods with the children?

"Um…"

"Yes, it is," Angel said, answering the question for her when he realized Buffy hadn't been paying attention.

Buffy glanced at Angel and smiled. "_Thank you,"_ she mouthed. Underneath the table, she reached for his hand, and their fingers interlocked.

"Now these demons are especially dangerous…" Wesley continued.

"I feel like I'm in school again," Buffy whispered.

"Should we get out of here?" Angel whispered back.

Buffy grinned. "Yeah. Follow my lead."

"…and humans are particularly vulnerable."

"Wesley, sorry to interrupt," Buffy said as she stood up. "But it's getting late, and I should probably patrol. And frankly, I already know how to kill these demons."

"And I should probably go with her," Angel said, pushing his chair back and standing to his feet. "And I already know how to kill these guys too."

"Oh, do you want Willow and I to go with you?" Tara asked. "You know, a little witchy backup?"

Willow kicked Tara under the table.

"Ow. What?" Tara hissed.

"I don't think they intend to patrol," Willow whispered.

"Oh," Tara mouthed.

"Um…no, that's okay, Tara. I think Angel and I can handle it. We're just going to…"

"Do a quick sweep around the cemetery," Angel finished.

"Yeah. And maybe the downtown area too. Besides, I've got my ring so Maleficus can't track me. See you guys later?"

Angel was already halfway to the door when Buffy turned around to follow him.

"Uh, Buff?" Xander said, getting her attention.

"Yeah?"

Xander held up her stake. "Forgetting something?"

"Oh yeah. I guess I do need that." Buffy grabbed the stake. "Thanks, Xander."

Cordelia rolled her eyes as the bell on the door jingled and Buffy and Angel left the shop. "Well that wasn't at all obvious," she muttered.

* * *

The demon peered into the cavern, wondering if Maleficus was in a better mood. When Maleficus spotted him, he sat up, eager to hear what he had learned.

"Did you get the information I asked for?"

He nodded. "Their names are Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay. Both quite adept, but the Rosenberg girl appears to be the more powerful one of the two."

"How powerful?"

"Not at your level, but I still wouldn't want to get on her bad side," he replied. "What do you wish to do?"

Maleficus smiled. "What do you think I want to do? Send Kristoff and Rainer. They enjoy this sort of thing. I want those witches dead by tonight."

* * *

A/N: Well of course I had to end the chapter there! It makes sense that Maleficus wants to target Willow and Tara now, especially since they've proven to be a threat. Stay tuned to see what happens next…

I hope I did the Buffy/Faith scene justice. I may have once said that Buffy was one of the hardest characters for me to write, but I was wrong. Writing Faith is way harder for me…

Hope you enjoyed the B/A fluff. I really do intend to throw as much as that in as I can, seeing as how that's my favorite thing to write. ;)

Until 58!

PS: Totally unrelated to my story….but if you haven't already, check out the preview clips and promos for "Ringer", SMG's new show! I put the links in my profile. This show looks _freaking awesome_ and I've already watched the trailer like a million times, lol.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 13th, 9pm (ET) on the CW! Yeah! :D


	58. Trouble Always Follows

Buffy held on to Angel's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know what flavor I want, right?"

Angel looked down at her and smiled. "Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea."

The person in front of them moved away from the counter, and they finally moved up in line.

The young girl behind the counter gave her best smile. "Hi, what can I get for you?"

Angel looked down at the glass below and pointed. "Can we get two of the cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip, please?"

"Cone or bowl?"

"A bowl is fine."

It took the cashier all but a minute to ring up their order and scoop ice cream into two small bowls. Angel appreciated the fast service.

"Take it to go?" Buffy suggested, seeing how crowded the little ice cream shop was. The movie theater was just across the street, so a crowd was expected.

Angel nodded, taking hold of her arm as he led her outside. The park was nearby, and an evening walk seemed like a great idea.

"Oh wow, this tastes so good," Buffy said, scooping a huge spoonful into her mouth. "Just like I remembered."

"I wish I could taste it."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Buffy suddenly remembered that Angel couldn't. "I wish you could too."

"It's okay. I'm used to it."

"How does that work exactly?"

"How does what work?"

"Your vamp taste buds. I don't get it. If your sense of smell is so incredible, it would stand to reason that your sense of taste is too. Those sort of go hand in hand. So how is it that you can't taste at all?"

"Well, I can still taste, except that unfortunately, my palate is limited."

"Just blood, huh?"

"Yeah. But I still like eating ice cream. It makes me feel…almost human." Angel began smiling at her.

Buffy noticed his expression. "What?"

"You have a little…" Angel wiped the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "…ice cream on your mouth."

"Oh. Did you get it all?"

"No, I think there's still a little more. Let me get that for you." Angel pressed his mouth against hers.

"Liar," Buffy whispered when he pulled away a few moments later.

"Liar?"

"I didn't have any more ice cream on my mouth. You just used that as an excuse to kiss me."

"Are you complaining?" he asked, grinning.

"No. I think you have a little ice cream on your mouth too."

"Liar," Angel said against her lips as they kissed again.

"Am I dreaming?" Buffy asked, lacing her arm around his as they continued their walk.

Angel gave her a smile. "No, I don't think so."

Buffy smiled back at him. "It feels like a dream. It feels like someone up there said, 'Hey, let's give Buffy Summers a break. She's had a rough year. Let her be happy for a change.' I think this is the happiest I've been in a while."

"For the record, this is the happiest I've been….ever."

They passed a trash can on the edge of the sidewalk and threw their empty bowls into the receptacle.

"That went way too fast," Angel complained. "We should get ice cream more often."

"Angel? You said eating ice cream makes you feel almost human. So do you ever think about it? You know, Shanshu?"

"Buffy, don't get your hopes up about that."

"Wesley seems to think it'll happen."

"Wesley is hoping, just like you. But I'm afraid it's just not in the cards. Besides, I can't be human now. You understand why, don't you?"

Buffy nodded. "I know. It'd be kind of hard for you to save the world if you didn't have your strength. It'd be like the time I lost my strength during that stupid Watcher's test, so I get it. You still didn't answer my question though. Do you ever think about it? About what it would be like if it did happen? Say it happened and you didn't have to worry about saving the world. That you could just, you know, be normal."

"It'd be nice," Angel said after a thoughtful pause, then took her hand. "Although not nearly as good if you weren't around." Angel stopped walking and looked her in the eyes. "What we have now? I'd take this over life without you in a heartbeat."

"Good thing you're stuck with me."

"Never letting you go either." Angel held her close as they started to walk again.

"What about when I'm old and ugly?"

"What?"

"Will you love me even when I'm gray-haired and ugly and you're still handsome you?"

"You'll always be beautiful to me."

"Well I'll be wrinkly then. Will you still love me?"

"Of course I'll love you. There's no question."

Buffy laughed. "I can see us now. It'll be my turn to be the 'older' person in this relationship. Even though technically you'll still be older, but you'll look the same. Are you sure you'd be okay with that?"

"If you live to be ninety years old, believe me, I'll be ecstatic."

"It's getting late. We should probably actually patrol like we said we were going to do."

"We should," Angel agreed. "Or would you rather…" Angel whispered something into her ear.

Buffy laughed and had been about to answer him when she lost her train of thought. "Riley."

Angel stared at Buffy, not expecting _that_ to be her response. He followed her gaze and realized Riley was standing in front of them.

Riley shifted nervously on his feet, the moment obviously awkward for all of them. "Hey, Buffy. How uh, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"You look good. I mean…you look like you're well. You're feeling well?"

"My memory's still a little fuzzy, but the doctor says I'm doing fine."

"And how are the headaches? Are you still having those?"

"No, they're gone."

Riley smiled at Buffy, trying to avoid Angel's stare. "That's good. I'm glad you're feeling better. Well, take care." Riley walked past them both, quickly making his exit.

Angel watched Buffy as she stared down the sidewalk, watching Riley walk further away from them. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Did you remember something?"

"No. I just feel bad. All he ever did was love me. Willow and Xander said he hardly left my side at the hospital. I really hurt him, didn't I?"

"Don't feel bad. If you had stayed with him knowing you didn't love him, you would have hurt him worse in the long run."

"I guess you're right. But I still feel bad about it. I never meant to hurt him. And I'm telling you this and for some reason, you're smiling at me. Why are you smiling at me?"

"I was just thinking how wonderful you are. I've done so much worse than you and here you are worried about breaking some unlucky guy's heart. I'm going to give you the same advice you always give me."

"What's that?"

"It's that we can't change the past. We can't go back and right the wrongs. The only thing we can do now is move forward and try to do better next time. That's all anyone can ever really do."

A smile came to Buffy's face. "I've told you today how much I love you, right?"

"A few times I think," he said and smiled. "So, you didn't answer my question. Do you want to patrol, or…"

The smile on her face turned decidedly wicked. "I have a better idea. How about we do both?"

* * *

Anya snorted loudly, waking herself up. She wiped the drool from her mouth and looked up, seeing all eyes on her, and stared back at them. "What are you all staring at?"

"Am I boring you, Anya?" Wesley asked.

"It's just getting kind of late, Wes," Xander said with a yawn.

Willow suddenly stood up, gathering her purse. "Hey, Wesley? I hate to cut out early too, but I just remembered! Tara and I have a Wicca meeting to go to!"

"We do?" Tara asked. "Oh right! _We do_! I forgot all about it too!"

"You have a meeting at…" Wesley checked his watch. "10 o'clock?"

Willow nodded. "Mmm-hmm. We meet at night. Gotta go. See you all tomorrow?"

Tara followed Willow's lead, grabbing her bag and waving at the group. "Goodnight."

Cordelia sighed as she watched the two leave. "Wish I had some meeting to go to," she muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something, Cordelia?" Wesley asked.

"Nothing."

Wesley frowned, certain she had said something, but decided to ignore it. "Now, as I was saying…" he continued, much to Cordelia, Xander, and Anya's annoyance.

* * *

"I am so going to Hell," Buffy said as she buttoned her blouse. One of her buttons was missing. She spotted it on the floor seconds later, obviously torn off in the heat of the moment.

Angel, who sat next to her buttoning his own shirt, stared at Buffy and laughed. "What?"

"I said I'm going to Hell."

Angel shook his head, not understanding.

"We just had sex in front of Old Bertha!" Buffy said, as if it hadn't been obvious.

"Bertha?"

Buffy nodded to the inscription behind her. "'Bertha Mae Dawson. May the Lord Bless Her Soul.'"

Angel began to laugh. "I think we gave Old Bertha a show."

"I can't believe we just did that. In here." Buffy looked around, taking in their surroundings. "In a crypt for crying out loud. That's a new low."

"I seem to recall this was your idea."

"This was not my idea!" Buffy said with a laugh.

"Well it was to do it here. What did you say? Something about this being the closest place?"

Buffy smiled at him. "Well if you weren't so irresistible—"

"Shh," Angel interrupted. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear…what?"

Angel crept to the opening of the crypt and cracked the door ever so slightly. He motioned for Buffy to follow.

Buffy hadn't heard anything, but her slayer sense was suddenly kicking into high gear. Something was out there.

As they peered out of the crypt, a movement caught both their eyes. A small group of vampires were making their way across the cemetery.

"Where are they going?" Buffy whispered.

"I don't know. But let's find out."

* * *

"Do you think it's wrong we lied to them?" Willow asked as she and Tara walked hand in hand by the lake near campus.

Tara laughed. "I think if Buffy and Angel get to have some time to themselves, we should too."

Willow smiled. "I like the way you think."

"You're getting to be a better liar by the way." Tara squeezed Willow's hand. "This was a great idea."

Willow looked up, seeing a sliver of moon in the sky. "Oh, Tara, look at the moon. It's pretty."

"Yeah, it is. Come two weeks it'll be full."

Willow's smile fell. "Yeah, I know. Getting closer to the big day."

Tara paused, turning to Willow. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put a damper on our fun."

"You didn't. It's not like I've forgotten what we're up against."

They continued to walk until they reached the bridge. Willow stopped to lean over the railing, admiring the way the stars lit up the sky. "Such a beautiful night."

Tara murmured a response, leaning over the railing with her.

"Tara?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll be able to do this, right?"

Tara smiled. "Of course. We're more than ready. Besides, we rocked that restoration spell, didn't we? In the middle of an earthquake no less."

Willow laughed. "You're right. I just needed to hear you say it."

"Excuse me?"

Willow and Tara turned around, seeing two men roughly their age, maybe a bit older, standing behind them.

"Are you Willow?" asked one of them, looking at Willow.

Willow nodded. "I am."

"I thought so. Weren't you in Professor Wagoner's class last semester?"

"Yeah. You were in that class too?"

"Sometimes," he replied. "And when I was there, I sat in the back. How obvious was that comb over Wagoner was sporting?"

Willow laughed. "Very."

"Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Tara. And this is…I'm sorry, I don't actually know who you are."

"Kristoff," he replied. "But most people just call me Kris. And this is Rainer."

"Ladies," Rainer said.

"Do you two like coffee?" Kristoff asked.

"Um…sure, we like it. But—"

"Great. Rainer and I were just going to get a cup. Maybe you two would like to join us?"

Willow glanced at Tara, then at Kristoff. "I think there might be a misunderstanding."

"You don't like coffee?" Rainer asked.

"No, we do. I just sort of get the impression that maybe you two are looking for a date? And see, the thing is…"

Tara reached for Willow's hand. "We're kind of already involved…with each other."

"That's okay," Rainer said, leering at Tara. "We're okay with girl-on-girl action, aren't we, Kris? Kind of a turn-on, actually."

Willow backed up slightly, suddenly feeling the conversation take a very uncomfortable turn. "Uh, look, it's getting late. We sort of need to…go."

"You can't leave now," Kristoff said, blocking their way with both hands on the bridge's railings. "The fun's just getting started."

Willow and Tara both turned the other way, but Rainer was blocking them too. "Yeah, you wouldn't want to miss out on it, would you?" Rainer leered at them again, then quietly transformed his face.

Before either of them could react, Rainer grabbed hold of Tara, and Kristoff, who had also vamped out, grabbed Willow.

Tara screamed, but Rainer slapped his mouth over hers. "Make another sound and I'll snap your neck!"

Willow struggled to get free, but Kristoff was too strong, and his grip tight.

"Like you don't plan to kill us anyway," Willow muttered.

Kristoff laughed in Willow's ear. "Smart one, this is. By the way? Maleficus sends his regrets he couldn't be here tonight. He doesn't appreciate being made to look like a fool. Now, we're going to take a little ride somewhere."

"Where to, Kris?" asked Rainer.

"How perfect we found them here. We're going to see if these witches can float."

* * *

Buffy and Angel followed the group of vampires to an abandoned factory, making sure to keep enough distance between them so they wouldn't be spotted.

"Why aren't we slaying them again?" Buffy asked.

"Something's off." Angel couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but his instincts were telling him this was trouble, and his instincts weren't often wrong.

"Look."

Angel looked in the direction Buffy was pointing, seeing two more vampires making their way to the factory as well. "Well they're definitely having some kind of gathering."

"What is it about vampires and old abandoned factories?" Buffy muttered.

"Come on, let's go inside."

Buffy nodded, then followed Angel.

At the back of the building, they found another entrance. Angel pulled on the door handle. "Locked." He smiled at Buffy. "But not a problem, right?" Angel pulled the door harder, breaking the lock and handle. The door creaked opened.

Buffy looked over her shoulder, hoping no one had seen or heard them, and quickly followed Angel inside.

Once inside, they found themselves in a hallway. Together, they quietly made their way to a door and cautiously opened it. From here, Angel could see just inside the main room of the factory, as well as the vampires gathered inside. Angel looked around, spotting stairs to a catwalk overhead.

"What are they—"

"Shh," Angel warned. "This way."

Angel led them to the seen-better-days staircase, and motioned for her to be careful. "Don't lean on this railing. Looks unsteady."

Several steps later, they had reached the top of the catwalk. From up here, they had a much better view.

"Set that up over there," ordered one of the vampires as he pointed to some chairs and tables. Two other vampires got to work and began to move the furniture. "And work faster! We've only got a couple of weeks until we open."

Buffy and Angel exchanged glances.

"Wonder what they're opening," Angel whispered.

"Looks like they're setting up for a restaurant. That's weird. What are they going to have? Humans on the menu?"

"That looks suspicious. What do you think that is?"

Buffy looked to where Angel pointed and saw a strange contraption. "I don't know. But there's three more over there."

The vampires worked quickly at setting up the tables and chairs until finally, it was finished. Then they went about unpacking a few boxes.

"I think you were right," Angel whispered. "About humans on the menu."

"You think?"

"Take a closer look at that thing. A human could easily fit on that metal slab. It has a series of needles on the sides. And the tubes are probably for the blood. And the taps—"

"So they can drink a live human," Buffy said, finishing his thought. "Think they're working for Maleficus or are they just doing this on their own?"

"I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter. Either way, we need to put an end to this."

The front door opened, and two more vampires marched in. One of them held a petite Asian girl who struggled to get free.

"We brought fresh blood," he announced.

"Get in her in the machine," said the vampire presumably in control. "Let's see if this thing works."

"Let me go!" the girl cried. "Please!"

"Okay, now it's time to slay them," Angel said.

* * *

Half past ten, Wesley finally wrapped things up, and everyone was quick to get up and ready to get out of there. Even Giles seemed a little bleary-eyed.

"Thank you for your…attention," Wesley said as he watched the group pack up.

"Hey, Wes, some advice?" Cordelia said, grabbing her purse from the back of her chair. "If you're ever looking for a change in careers. A teacher? Not your calling."

"Well I'll try to keep that in mind. I may not be the best lecturer, but I do think it's important for us all to be informed."

"Can't we just let Angel and Buffy do all the killing?" Cordelia asked. "It's what they do anyway."

"Angel and Buffy may not always be around," Wesley said. "I think it's important to be aware of the dangers out there in the event you encounter one of these demons and you're on your own."

"Well I don't have to worry about that," Cordelia said. "If there's some danger I need to know about, the PTB will send me a vision." As if the very mention of the word 'vision' jinxed it, Cordelia sank back down in her chair, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in her head. "_Oh!_ _Vision!"_

_Tara screamed as a vampire threw Willow into the water. Beneath the surface, Willow struggled, but it appeared her hands were bound, and a cinder block tied to her ankle pulled her further below._

"Very funny, Cordelia," Wesley remarked, not amused, as he thought she was putting on an act.

"I'm not faking!" Cordelia shouted. She looked at Wesley's now panicked face, trying to ignore the pain she felt in her head.

"What did you see, Cordelia?" he asked.

"It's Willow and Tara. They're in trouble."


	59. Save Me

Xander slammed the phone down on the cradle. "Buffy's not answering her cell."

"Neither is Angel," Cordelia said, hanging up her own cell. "Apparently neither of them can answer the phone right now."

Xander glared at Anya. "You still think that spell for Angel was a good idea? Now anytime they want to run off and be alone, we're not going to be able to reach them!"

Anya suddenly brightened. "I know! Let's get Spike!"

"_Spike?"_

"Well he can help!"

Xander sighed. He couldn't believe it, but he agreed. They actually needed Spike's help. It was for Willow, he reminded himself. He had to save Willow. He just prayed the vampire would be home.

"We don't have time to argue!" Wesley said, grabbing the keys to Angel's convertible. "We need to go!"

"I'll stay behind and try to contact Buffy again," Giles said.

Xander nodded, and the group piled out of the shop.

* * *

Buffy, grateful that she did actually have her stake with her, grabbed a nearby rope, hoisted herself over the railing, and swung down, landing in the middle of the floor.

"Okay, I'm going to try not to be insulted," Buffy said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "You're having a blood party and you didn't think of inviting _me_? I mean, come on! I'm the _Slayer_! Everyone knows my blood is better than anyone else's!"

The nearest vampire immediately lunged at her with a growl, and Buffy swiftly dodged the move.

"You must be off your game!" Buffy mocked. "I usually am too when I'm hungry."

Two more vampires made a move toward her, but were stopped when Angel crashed down on them from above, sending them each face down on the floor.

"Don't lose the girl!" one of the vampires yelled as two more held the screaming girl down. The vampires quickly strapped the girl in the machine.

"No! No!" the girl screamed.

Angel grabbed a nearby chair and snapped one of the legs off, making a makeshift stake, then went to work at fighting the two vampires.

Buffy ducked another move from her attacker, then spun around and plunged the stake into his chest.

One down. Eight more to go.

Buffy ran toward the machinery, pulling one vampire away from the girl. The vampire, however, was strong, and he whipped around, picking Buffy up and throwing her down on the ground. Buffy got up back to her feet, not giving up so easily, then rammed the stake into his back, killing him from behind.

Angel had no sooner dusted off his two attackers when two more charged toward him, making the mistake of thinking they could take Angel on. He threw one, then another, across the room like ragdolls. Neither of them had made it to their feet yet when Angel drove the stake through them.

"How dare you ruin this for us!" another vampire hissed, grabbing Buffy from behind. "You want a turn so badly, Slayer?"

The vampire shoved Buffy down on another metal slab. He intended to strap her down, but Buffy was too quick for him, managing to bring her legs up and kick the vampire in the head. He staggered back for a moment, and Buffy got free, just in time to see the other vampire near the girl turn the other machine on. The girl inside screamed louder as she slid further into the machinery.

"Angel! Hurry!"

Angel, who had been fighting off an extremely persistent vampire, finally managed to stake him.

Buffy hopped off the table, slamming her stake into her attacker as he tried to pull her back.

Angel broke the remaining vampire's neck, watching him disappear into a cloud of ash, then raced toward the girl. He began to pull her out, and Buffy slammed the power button off, just in the nick of time.

Angel helped the girl down from the contraption, who seemed to be shaking with fear, but relieved at the same time. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just shook up. I am _so_ getting out of this town!"

"That might be a good idea," Angel said.

"I thought my roommate was crazy when she kept insisting she saw vampires and said she was moving back home! Now I know she wasn't kidding! Vampires really _do _exist, and I'm leaving too! Back home to Sacramento where no one wants to kill me!"

"Why don't you let us walk you home?" Buffy offered.

The girl nodded gratefully. "That would be great. Thank you so much for coming when you did! You saved my life."

Buffy smiled. "You're welcome."

"Who are you anyway? You must be really brave, or forgive me for saying, really crazy to go up against those guys."

Buffy glanced at Angel, then back at the girl. "Would you believe me if I told you I'm a vampire slayer?"

* * *

"Don't you people knock?" Spike muttered as Xander burst into his crypt, interrupting his program on the telly.

"Spike, we need your help!"

"Of course you do. What's the matter this time?"

"It's Willow and Tara! They're in trouble!"

Spike nodded, deciding not to question why Xander was coming to him for help, and followed Xander out the door.

* * *

After walking the girl home and seeing her safely to her apartment, Buffy dug into her pocket for her phone.

"I missed a call earlier. It's the number at the Magic Box. No voice mail though."

"Yeah, my phone was ringing too. Couldn't exactly answer it at the moment." Angel took out his phone, seeing the missed number. "It was Cordelia calling."

Buffy frowned. "I hope nothing's wrong."

"We better get back."

* * *

Kristoff pushed Willow face down on the ground and bound her arms behind her. Beside her, Rainer, pressed Tara down to the ground with his weight and bent her arms at an unnatural angle, making her yelp in pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Willow shouted.

Rainer just laughed and held Tara a little longer before finally bounding her arms as well.

Willow gazed around her, hoping to spot a stick to use as a weapon. If she could just find one lying on the ground, she could use Tara's levitating spell and stake the vampire. But there were no sticks, no twigs, not even a rock that could be of use.

"Time to go for a swim," said Kristoff as he picked Willow off the ground, holding her so tightly that even when she struggled, it was impossible to break free from his grip.

Of course, as luck would have it, not another soul was in sight. Why had she suggested they come out here by themselves?

"I'm sorry I made us come here, Tara," Willow cried.

"Shut your trap," Kristoff said harshly, tossing Willow unceremoniously into a canoe.

Rainer threw Tara down beside her and jumped into the canoe as well, causing it to rock forcefully.

"You're never going to get away with this," Willow said, her voice wavering, knowing she didn't sound as brave as she'd hope to be. "Buffy's going to come any minute now and you'll be sorry you ever messed with the Slayer's best friend."

Kristoff laughed. "Hey, Rainer, you see the Slayer anywhere?"

Rainer looked around the lake. "No, I don't see anyone."

Kristoff looked at Willow and smiled. "Guess she had other plans."

Willow felt a lump in her throat, but fought back the tears. _Someone would come for them._

Kristoff untied the boat from the dock and climbed in, causing the boat to rock again.

Rainer looked underneath the seat, spotting two cinder blocks attached to some ropes. "Where'd you get these from, Kris?"

"The high school," Kristoff replied with a laugh. "Got the ropes from this store. People in this town are so friendly. The shop owner just let me have it, afraid I would bite him if he didn't. I bit him anyway," he added with a laugh.

Rainer grabbed an oar, as did Kristoff, and together, they rowed to the middle of the lake.

* * *

"_Think, Cordelia_!" Wesley shouted.

He was stopped at an intersection, unsure of whether to make a right or a left turn. If they turned left, it would lead to the lake by the UC Sunnydale campus. If they turned right, they'd be headed for the lake in the woods. And at the moment, Cordelia wasn't sure which lake it was.

"I'm trying!" Cordelia replied. Thinking back to her vision, she'd mostly just seen a lot of water. What was hard was remembering what the background was like.

"Were there a lot of trees?" Xander asked.

"Of course there were trees!" Cordelia closed her eyes and thought back to her vision. "Oh wait, I remember! There was a little bridge! Which lake has a little bridge nearby?"

"Turn left!" Xander ordered, and Wesley stepped on the gas.

* * *

The lake wasn't big by any means, almost a pond really, but Willow knew the water was still quite deep in the center. She tried repeatedly to untie the ropes keeping her hands bound behind her, but Kristoff had made a very tight knot, which made the task incredibly difficult.

And at the moment, she couldn't think of a single spell that would be useful.

Kristoff stopped rowing and motioned for Rainer to hand him a cinder block.

Willow winced as Kristoff grabbed hold of her ankle roughly. He then went about trying the other end of the rope. The rope was scratchy, digging and cutting into her skin. She couldn't help the tear that rolled down her cheek, one thought repeating over and over in her mind: _She was going to die._

Willow glanced at Tara, seeing the fear in her face. When Tara was scared, she grew quiet, and Tara hadn't said much of anything. "Tara, I love you."

Tara looked at Willow, just barely making out Willow's tear-streaked face in the faint moonlight. "Stop that," she whispered. "St-stop talking like we're going to die. We'll be just fine. Someone will come for us."

"I wouldn't count on that, sweetheart," Rainer said with a laugh.

Willow once again attempted to untie the rope. The knot was finally coming a little loose, but Willow was running out of time.

"Say sayonara, witch" Kristoff said, and before Willow knew what was happening, Kristoff threw her overboard.

"_Willow!_ _Willow!"_

Tara's frantic screaming was the last sound Willow heard. She felt the cold water envelope her as she sank into the darkness.

Beneath the surface, Willow struggled with the ropes around her wrists, feeling elation at the knot she'd been working on finally come loose. Her relief, however, was short-lived, as moving her arms did nothing to bring her up to the surface, and Willow sank further below.

Willow panicked, fighting to reach the surface in vain, desperately wanting to breathe. Her only recourse was to untie the rope from her leg. But the knot was too tight, she couldn't see, and Willow was already exhausted.

She needed air! Her lungs felt deflated and empty, demanding oxygen. She fought, struggling once again to bring herself up. But she had hit the bottom, and wasn't going back up.

It was getting harder to hold her breath, and she could no longer stop her body's natural response to inhale. The cold water rushed into her mouth, and finally, Willow felt nothing at all.


	60. Just Breathe

Wesley aimed the crossbow at the vampire, thankful his years of training as a watcher had made him such a sharpshooter.

Tara sobbed loudly as she peered into the dark water, hoping against hope to see Willow rise to the surface. But there was no sign of her.

Rainer grabbed Tara from behind, holding her still as Kristoff prepared to tie a cinder block to her ankle.

"_You're_ _next_," said Kristoff, smirking at her. But his face suddenly contorted, as if in pain, and he vanished in a cloud of dust right before Tara's eyes.

Just a few feet away, Wesley stood poised in the center of a canoe, his crossbow aimed toward them. Tara hadn't even realized he was there.

"Tara, get down!" he ordered.

Tara lowered her head, feeling the arrow from his crossbow zip over her, and Rainer was finally dust too.

* * *

A tiny fish swam between the strands of her red hair.

Had Willow been conscious, and if she could actually see in water this dark, she'd probably find the fish cute.

A large form suddenly disturbed the tranquility, and the lone fish darted out of the way.

Spike could just barely make out Willow in the dark, murky water. He knew without seeing that there could only be one thing holding her down. Reaching down, Spike felt the rope tied around Willow's ankle, and quickly cut it with his pocket knife. Once she was free, Spike grabbed hold of her and kicked his legs to push them to the surface.

It was a long way up.

They finally reached the surface, and Spike swam to the shore, meeting Xander halfway.

Xander grabbed Willow and carried her out of the water, laying her down on the ground.

"Willow!" Tara screamed as she ran toward Willow, throwing herself over the woman. "Willow!"

"Move!" Xander shouted, pushing Tara out of the way. "I know CPR!"

Tears streamed down Tara's face. "Willow, please don't die!"

"I can help!" Wesley said as he began chest compressions.

_Not Willow! _Xander thought as he tilted Willow's head up and held her nose, breathing into her mouth. "Come on! Come on, Willow! Breathe!"

Everyone waited with bated breath for Willow to breathe, but the only sound that could be heard was Wesley's grunting as he pressed on her chest, and the sound of Tara crying.

"Breathe, damn it!" Xander yelled as he gave Willow another breath. _It was just like Buffy again. Please God, let her be okay like Buffy was…_

"Willow, please!" Tara cried again. Cordelia knelt down, hugging the girl in an attempt to comfort her. Anya stood nearby, frozen as she watched the scene unfold.

Xander and Wesley continued on for another minute or so, neither refusing to give up.

Willow suddenly gasped, rolled her head to the side, and coughed up some water. The group breathed a collective sigh of relief. She then looked up, slowly opening her eyes and blinking a few times, seeing Xander hovering over her.

"Xander?"

"Thank god," Xander said, helping her move to a sitting position.

"Willow!" Tara threw her arms around her, and Willow coughed again, clutching Tara just as tightly.

"I thought I'd lost you!" Tara pulled away to look Willow in the eyes. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, you hear?"

Willow shivered, glancing around at the group with a dazed expression on her face. "Did I die?"

* * *

"Buffy, as soon as you get this message will you _please_ call me back as soon—"

"Giles, what's the dire?" Buffy asked, running into the shop with Angel right behind her.

Giles hung up the phone and looked to Buffy. She knew from his expression alone that whatever it was, it was as bad as news could get.

"It's Willow and Tara."

"What happened?" Buffy demanded.

Before Giles could answer, the door opened and the group walked in. Willow and Tara were thankfully amongst them.

Willow's hair was soaked, and she appeared to be shivering with Angel's cover blanket draped around her shoulders, but she was alive.

"Willow! Thank god!" Buffy ran to Willow, throwing her arms around her best friend. "What happened?"

"I got a little wet," Willow said, stating the obvious.

"Are you okay?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I am. Thanks to these guys." Willow nodded to Xander, Wesley, and Spike all standing behind her.

Buffy looked over Willow's shoulder to Xander. "What happened?"

"Cordelia had a vision," he answered.

"It was Willow and Tara," Cordelia said. "I saw them in trouble." Cordelia looked to Angel. "We tried to call you, Angel, but we couldn't get a hold of either of you."

"I'm sorry. Buffy and I got into a little trouble of our own."

"Is everything alright?" Wesley asked.

Angel nodded. "For now. What happened with Willow and Tara?"

"Willow, sit down," Giles said, offering her a chair.

"It was my fault," Willow said as she collapsed into the chair.

Tara sat down beside her. "It wasn't your fault, Willow." Tara looked up at the group. "We didn't have a Wicca meeting to go to. We just wanted some time alone, so we took a walk."

"That's when these vampires started talking to us," Willow continued. "We thought at first they were normal college guys, but turns out…they weren't."

"Long story short, they were working for Maleficus," Tara said. "Apparently our little incident at the Bronze last week made him mad. He wants us dead now."

"Of course," Buffy said, thinking aloud. "He sees you as a threat."

Willow nodded. "We tried to get away, but vamps are strong you know. They tied us up and took us out on one of the little boats. You know the little canoes by the lake?"

Buffy was almost afraid to hear what happened next. "You meant they tried to…?"

"Drown us," Willow said, reading Buffy's mind. "Yeah."

"We got there just in time," Xander said, picking up the story where Willow left off. "Tara was still in the boat but Willow was nowhere to be seen."

"Spike pulled me out of the water."

Buffy looked from Willow to Spike. "You saved Willow?"

Spike shrugged. "Well it wasn't just me. It was sort of team effort."

"Spike was the only one of us that could search for her underwater," Xander said. "With the added benefit of not drowning."

As much as Spike annoyed her, Buffy never thought there'd come a day in which she was truly grateful he was around. "Spike, I don't know how to thank you enough."

"Well don't just thank me. Like I said, it was sort of a team effort."

"Xander performed CPR!" Anya announced proudly. "And let me just say…he's never been more sexier than he was at that very moment. All take-charge and being a hero! Oh, and Wesley helped too."

"Thank you, Anya," Wesley said, then turning to Angel. "What kind of trouble did you encounter?"

"We saved a girl from a group of vampires. It's a long story, one that can wait until tomorrow."

"I think we've all had a long night," Giles said. "Perhaps we should all head home and deal with all this in the morning?"

The group unanimously agreed.

* * *

Buffy knocked on the door, waiting for Willow's response before poking her head into the room. "Hey, Will."

Willow sat awake in bed, a book of magic spells on her lap. "Hey." Willow closed her book and placed it on the nightstand.

"I brought you some hot chocolate. I thought it might help you sleep." Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed, handing Willow the mug.

"Thanks, Buffy."

"Where's Tara?"

Willow nodded toward the closed bathroom door. "Getting ready for bed."

Buffy watched as Willow took a careful sip of the cocoa, and collected her thoughts before she spoke. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there tonight, Will."

"What? Buffy, why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."

"I still feel like I should have been there. If I hadn't been so anxious for Angel and I get a moment alone together…"

"Buffy, I'm okay. You were needed somewhere else tonight. You and Angel saved that girl, right?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah."

"See? You shouldn't feel bad for that. You should feel good. And besides, I didn't need you to save me this time, and everything worked out just fine in the end."

"No, everything's not fine. You almost_ died _tonight. Tara too. Maleficus was never supposed to target you. This is all my fault for bringing you into this."

"Buffy, stop apologizing. And it's not your fault. We're all on the same side. Maleficus is targeting all of us, whether we want him to or not."

"What if he tracks you down? What if he comes after you and Tara again?"

"He won't find us. See this?" Willow reached for the talisman necklace she wore around her neck. "Tara and I did another cloaking spell. This time on us. If Maleficus comes after us again, or sends some other big bad after us, he won't be able to find us."

"I wish that this was over. I wish we didn't have to wait. I want to kill that bastard now."

"So do I, but you know what Giles said. It'll be better in the long run if we wait. Just think…the hellmouth could be closed_ permanently_. And maybe after this, we won't have to deal with the annual hoopla of some demon trying to open it again."

Buffy smiled. "I know. I guess I'm just anxious to give him what he deserves. Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you tonight, Will."

"I was so scared, Buffy. I really thought when I hit that water that it was over. No amount of magic was going to save me. Drowning is definitely not a fun way to die."

"Believe me, I know. Been there and done that."

"And those were just regular vamps, Buffy. If I can't go up against two ordinary vampires, how am I going to go up against Maleficus?"

Buffy smiled. "You not going to go up against Maleficus. That's my job. All you have to do is your witchy magic, which I _know_ you're good at. You leave the fighting to me."

* * *

Maleficus threw anything and everything in his sight as he raged in his cavern while a demon, a timid creature with green features, watched as Maleficus grew angrier by the second.

"And you're sure of this?" Maleficus asked, suddenly spinning around and glaring at him, his eyes glowing red.

The demon nodded.

"Get out of my face!" Maleficus yelled, and the demon flinched, as if struck, and hurriedly went back down the tunnel.

The witches were still alive.

No problem. Except for the lack of good help, that was.

He'd just have to take care of the problem himself.


	61. In The Know

Buffy followed Angel through the tunnels, amazed at how well he seemed to know his way around underground. Even better than she did sometimes, and she'd spent her fair amount of time down here.

"I've never been to Willy's this way before," she said, gazing at the sewer tunnel surrounding them.

"You didn't have to come this way. You could have met me there."

"No, I wanted to come with you." Buffy reached over and held on to his arm. "Besides, it gives us a little time alone. Even if it is in a sewer."

Angel smiled at her. "Willy's is this way."

Angel turned left, and not too further from the turn, there was a ladder, leading presumably to Willy's bar.

"I hope Willy's here," Buffy said.

"He is. I called ahead."

Buffy and Angel entered the bar through the back entrance, better known as the demon entrance, and made their way to the front.

Willy looked at them from behind the counter. "Hey everyone, look! It's the slayer!"

The two patrons in the bar groaned, then immediately cleared out.

"Hey, Willy. How's it going?" Buffy asked.

"Business is good. Can't complain." Willy busied himself with unpacking some liquor from a few boxes, not once making eye contact.

Angel narrowed his eyes at him. "You want to tell us how things are _really_ going?"

Willy glanced at Angel nervously, then looked around at the bar, making sure the place was empty. "Alright, you want the truth? I'm glad you two stopped by. Gives me a chance to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? You're leaving?" Buffy asked.

Willy leaned forward to talk lower, even though there was no one else in the bar. "Just between you and me, I'm getting the hell out of here. I'm going to go stay with my brother Sid in New York for a while. He's got this place upstate on the Hudson River. Really nice."

"So you're closing the bar?" Angel asked.

"Well Stan can hold down the fort for a while. But if this thing doesn't blow over, I'm not coming back."

Buffy and Angel exchanged glances, the same thought on both their minds. Willy was hardly afraid of demons, so the fact that he was running was a surprise.

"Why are you leaving?" Angel asked.

"Look, I know a lot of my patrons are rather…questionable. But that Maleficus scares the bejesus out of me. I'd heard of Maleficus, of course. You spend as much time here as I do, you find out a lot of things. But until I actually met the guy, I hadn't really thought much of him."

"He was here?"

Willy nodded. "Yeah, last week. Hence the reason I'm getting out of town."

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"Well he came in and introduced himself, which I thought was a little odd. He said he liked this place. Didn't seem too keen on the no violence policy though, but he liked the fact that I catered to everyone. And then he asked me if I wanted to work for him. Actually, scratch that. He _told_ me I was going to work for him."

Angel frowned. "Doing what?"

"He said I'd be a great addition to his 'human factory'. And if you're wondering what that is, it's exactly what you're thinking. Live humans corralled like a herd of cattle, and then, one by one, they go through this machine and the blood is drained completely out of them. Or at least…that's what I imagine it to be. From the way he described it anyway."

Angel nodded. "We've seen the place. Last night actually."

"And it was just like that," Buffy added.

"If he just wanted me to serve blood in the bar, I'd be okay with that. But I have to draw the line at killing humans that way. That's torture, and I don't want murder on my conscious. I have to tell you…it was real eerie the way he stared at me with those cold, dark eyes of his. It was sort of like he hypnotized me."

"That's his mind control," Buffy said.

"Well that's why I'm getting out of here. I can think for myself, you know? I'd appreciate it if you didn't let the word get out to anyone on the other side. I was planning on leaving in the middle of the day. Less of a chance of someone spotting me."

The door opened, and a man walked in, parking himself at the bar.

"Hey, Charlie!" Willy said, smiling at the man. "Long time, no see! What can I get for you?"

"Something strong," Charlie replied.

Angel looked at Buffy, nodding toward the back entrance, and they said their goodbyes to Willy.

"Well I guess we know for sure now that the factory was Maleficus' idea," Buffy said softly as they made their way back to the tunnel.

"Speaking of the factory…we need to destroy what we found last night before anyone gets hurt."

"I was thinking of that this morning, and I have an idea. I'll take care of it."

* * *

Buffy stood behind the chain link fence outside Xander's construction site. She tried to spot Xander, but everyone looked identical in their blue jeans and yellow hard hats.

A few workers walked by, and Buffy waved, then called out to them in an attempt to get their attention. But the workers continued to walk away, apparently not hearing her over the sounds of the machinery in the distance.

"Huh. Not even so much as a catcall," Buffy muttered. "And they call themselves construction workers. What does a girl got to do around here to get noticed?"

Taking the initiative upon herself, Buffy glanced at the hard hats required sign and grabbed an apparent extra one sitting on the bench. She entered the construction site, amazed that no one gave her a second look. She shrugged it off, then looked for Xander.

She found him in a shaded area next to a pile of steel girders.

"Hey, Sal, can give me a hand with this?" Xander asked, thinking she was one of his coworkers.

"No, but Buffy can," Buffy said with a smile. "Buffy can even pick up one of those bad boys by herself with her superior-human strength."

Xander smiled. "Hey, Buff! What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. Do you get a lunch hour anytime soon?"

"In fifteen minutes. Why?"

"I was hoping you would help me with something."

"You need _my_ help?"

"Yep, you're the man for the job. You and your handy construction tools, that is. You got a couple of sledgehammers we could borrow?"

Xander gave her a confused look. "A couple of sledgehammers? What exactly do you need help with?"

"Wanna help me destroy something?"

* * *

"Where are we going again?" Xander asked as he followed Buffy to a rundown area of town.

"We're almost there."

"Well let's see. We're in a bad part of town, and there's a bunch of abandoned buildings. Let me guess, this has something to do with vampires?"

"You would be correct." Buffy stopped walking, staring at the building up ahead. "I think that's it. Come on." Buffy headed for the entrance.

"Ah, an old, abandoned factory. Where vampires love to hang. It's so cliché."

"Hey, Xander?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you were there for Willow last night."

"Me too."

"I don't know what I'd ever do if we lost Will."

"When Spike brought Willow out of that water, all I could think of was the time that it was you. I was pretty scared. I was afraid Willow wouldn't be as lucky as you. Fortunately she wasn't in the water for too long."

"You're a real hero, Xander. You always look out for your friends."

Xander smiled. "I try. So what do you need a sledgehammer for, anyway?"

"I'll show you." Buffy entered the factory, giving the place a onceover to make sure the coast was clear, then nodded for Xander to follow her inside.

"Old, decrepit factory," Xander remarked. "Perfect place for evil."

"Angel and I were here last night. We followed a group of vamps that came here. See that weird machine over there?"

Xander walked over to it and peered inside. "What the hell is it?"

"Check out the needles on the side and imagine a human in it, then take a guess."

"You mean this is a blood-sucking machine?"

"Yep. The vamps last night strapped this girl in there. They were taking it for a 'test run'."

"I don't get it. Why would vampires want to get their blood this way? Isn't the whole fun of being a vampire the thrill of the hunt and chase?"

Buffy shrugged. "I guess this is their version of fast food. We need to destroy this before anyone gets hurt."

"There's four of these things," Xander said, glancing around the room.

Buffy held up her sledgehammer. "See why I needed your help?"

Ten minutes later, smashed pieces of the machinery were strewn about the floor. Buffy looked around, smiling in satisfaction. "There, that ought to do it. Problem solved. Thanks for your help, Xander."

"Uh, Buff? Problem not solved."

Buffy's smiled faded. "What do you mean?"

Across the room, Xander stood holding a piece of paper he'd picked up from the floor. "I don't think this is the only factory in town."

"What?" Buffy walked over to him and grabbed the wrinkled paper from Xander. "There's about twenty addresses scribbled on this. Wait, how do we know these addresses are other factories?"

"Isn't this 3505 Sutton Road?"

"Yeah."

"It's on the list."

"If these are in fact, other factories, then we're going to need more than a couple of sledgehammers."

Xander glanced at his watch. "I have to get back to work unfortunately. And I'm going to have to take these too before my boss realizes they're gone." Xander held up the sledgehammer in his hand.

"Okay, I'll check a few of these places out, just to see what they are. Let's meet at the shop tonight. If they are factories, we're going to have to destroy them."

* * *

Anya pulled out a chair from the table and sat down beside Xander. "This isn't going to be another boring meeting about the demons of Sunnydale, is it?"

From across the table, Wesley shot Anya a look.

The bell on the door jingled, and everyone looked up as Spike and Faith walked inside.

"We're not late, are we?" Faith asked.

"Actually, you're right on time," Buffy answered as she walked into the room from the back. "Thanks for coming."

"Sounded important," Faith said.

Buffy made her way to the front of the group as everyone else took their seats. "Okay, so I suppose you all are wondering why I called this meeting. First of all, you might be interested to know that Willy's decided to leave town."

"Willy the Snitch?" Giles asked.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. And if Willy's leaving, this is bad. Maybe a lot more worse than we think."

"I'm going to miss beating him up for information," Xander said wistfully.

"You never beat him up," Willow said.

"Okay, I'll miss bribing him then."

"Why would Willy leave?" Giles asked, more concerned about the imminent danger rather than bartender himself.

"He says Maleficus stopped by the bar and he got a bad vibe. Which leads me to the second reason I called this meeting. Last night, Angel and I followed some vamps to an abandoned factory on Sutton Road. There we found four huge contraptions that basically drain a human of blood, completely. They call it a human factory. Apparently last night, they were testing the device out. The girl we saved was their test subject. Xander and I destroyed the machines this afternoon, but unfortunately, we found out it's not the only factory in town."

"Well I could have told you that," Spike muttered.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You _knew _about this?"

"For a while, sure. I heard talk about it anyway. I hadn't realized they already had the factories set up though."

"Why didn't you mention it before?"

Spike shrugged. "You never asked. Besides, I figured you already knew."

"You know something else, don't you?" Buffy walked over to where Spike sat. "I remember now. When I asked you to help us, you mentioned you knew about Maleficus. I can't believe I didn't think to question you what you knew, or _how _you knew."

"I hear things," Spike explained.

"Hear _what_ things?"

"Well he wants you dead, I can tell you that."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

"What else do you know, Spike?" Angel demanded.

"Why do I feel like I'm being bloody interrogated?"

Buffy grinned. "Do you want to be interrogated?"

"I want you to hurry the hell up with this. I'll have you know that this meeting's making me miss a very important rerun of _Dawson's Creek _on the WB_._"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were interrupting the Pacey/Joey/Dawson saga," Buffy remarked.

Giles straightened his glasses. "I believe we're getting off-topic," he said in a calm voice. "Spike, would you please tell us anything additional you may know about Maleficus?"

"Alright. A few weeks ago, I was having a drink at Willy's. It was the middle of the day. About the only time I can get a bloody Guinness there without being hassled. The other vampires don't like me very much."

"Imagine that," Angel remarked.

"Anyway, struck up a conversation with this bloke from L.A. He'd been in town for a few weeks. Sometimes the best way to get information is to act ignorant, so I asked him what was going on, and he had a lot to say. He talked a lot about Maleficus, about his showy magic and all. He mentioned the human factories a few times as well. It's all for the sake of convenience by the way. With the population of vampire and demons, there'll be chaos if the food supply can't be controlled in some way."

"Well that answers that question," Buffy said. "Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah. He's got some big spell planned the night this all goes down."

"The one to open the Hellmouth?" Willow asked.

"Well not just that, pet. Something else. Some kind of magical force field."

Buffy frowned. "A 'force field'? What's that?"

"It's a magical barrier," Tara answered, then turned to Spike. "Where's this force field supposed to be?"

"Around Sunnydale as far as I can gather. Humans will be able to get in, but once they're in, there's no getting out."

"What about demons and vampires?" Wesley asked.

"Well they can come and go as they please. They're not human. I think the idea is to keep the humans from running away. Taking over a town isn't really effective if you can't keep your food source in tow. And then after that, well, everyone will be his bloody slave. You know, with the mind control and all. We can kiss free will goodbye. Unless we stop him, of course. Which I assume you all plan to take care of."

"Are you sure about this, Spike?" Giles asked.

"Would I lie, Rupert?"

"Is there anything _else_ you'd like to tell us?" Wesley asked.

Spike shrugged. "No, that's all I know." Spike caught several pairs of eyes staring at him. "Well I'm sorry I didn't tell you! I thought you all bloody knew everything by now!"

"Okay, we'll talk more about this later," Buffy said, getting back the group's attention. "For right now, we have some factories we need to destroy. Is everyone up for splitting into groups?"

* * *

A/N: Okay, so yeah, I borrowed the idea of the human blood sucking machine from "The Wish" but hey, it's a good idea! If it's good enough for the Master, it's good enough for Maleficus…

Thanks for reading, everyone! :) And also, special thanks to **Angellufy** who made me wonder if Spike really did know anything else about Maleficus back in chapter 50. Apparently he did! Lol :D

Until 62!


	62. Hide And Seek

"Are you sure you're up for this, Will?" Buffy asked.

"I'm fine!" Willow insisted.

Buffy frowned. "You're _sure_?"

"Yes, of course! I'm fine! Really! No aftereffects from the near-drowning, I promise! So please can I come with you?"

Buffy smiled, glancing at Angel. "Okay, sure. You can come patrol with us."

Willow squealed and grabbed her spell bag, in the event she had to whip up something.

"Is Tara coming too?" Angel asked.

Willow glanced behind her, as if to make sure no one was listening, and leaned forward to whisper. "Okay, honestly? Tara's driving me a little crazy!"

Buffy almost laughed. "What? Why?"

"Ever since I almost died, she's been hovering. Constantly. '_Do you need this? Do you need that? Where are you going? Are you sure you're okay?_' It's maddening! And I know she's just looking out for me, and truth be told, if Tara was the one who almost died, I'd be hovering too. But it's been _three days_! I just need a little space, you know?"

"She just loves you, Will," Buffy said.

"I know. But you know what it's like, Buffy. Remember how your mom always was, especially when she found out about you being a slayer?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. It was like twenty questions before I'd get out the door. She perfected the art of hovering."

"So you see? Even though I love her, I just need like one hour away from her, for the sake of my own sanity. And plus, I fibbed a little. I told Tara you wanted to talk to me. You know, best friend stuff. And she's not worried about me being around you, because you know, you're the slayer. I'm pretty much in good hands when I'm with you."

"Alright, come on, Will," Buffy said, smiling as the three of them headed outside.

* * *

Willow sat down on a headstone, watching the two of them fight. She'd seen, of course, Buffy and Angel fight before, but had she ever really _watched _them?"

It was like watching a choreographed fight scene in a movie, the way they each moved gracefully in their individual fighting stances. Angel fought with brute force, pummeling his victims before delivering the final blow, while Buffy on the other hand, relied heavily on surprise tactics, strength an added bonus.

It had been like this all night, with one group of vampires surprising them after the other. Buffy and Angel hadn't lost momentum, taking down each group just as effectively as the last, one after another exploding into dust. Willow, meanwhile, hadn't been bothered at all by them, the vampires keen on taking out the slayer instead.

Buffy raised her stake and dusted the final vampire, then brushed the dust off her shirt.

"Wow, that was pretty amazing," Willow said as she stood to her feet. "You two work really well together."

"We do a lot of things really well together," Buffy said, flashing a smile at Angel. She tilted her head and pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt, brushing her lips against his.

Willow laughed. "I guess Faith was right."

"About what?" Buffy asked.

"What did she always say slaying made her?"

"Hungry or horny?" Buffy smiled at Angel again. "Which, by the way, I'm _both_ right now. I guess I really worked up an appetite."

Angel smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I guess we need to take care of that then."

"Yes, but food first, and of the fast variety. I'm in the mood for chicken. Preferably fried, and extra crispy. Oh, and we'll get it to go?"

Angel laughed. "Of course."

"Surely you're not leaving now, are you?" said a voice behind them. "The fun's just beginning."

Buffy felt a chill up her spine, her lighthearted mood replaced with one of fear and dread.

The three turned around slowly to see Maleficus standing there, smiling at them all.

"So, Slayer, we finally meet again. I've been looking everywhere for you. You know, you've been very difficult to track down since you went into hiding. I've had to resort to finding you the old way." Maleficus grinned, baring his fangs. "Sometimes being a vampire is very useful. The heightened sense of smell. Heightened sense of vision. Heightened sense of sound whenever you scream for mercy."

Buffy breathed deeply, grasping her stake just a little tighter.

Maleficus took a step closer. "I see you're with your friends as well. How fortunate. The witch who thinks she can outsmart me, and the vampire who betrays his own kind."

Willow started to speak in Latin, invoking her protection spell.

Maleficus laughed. "She's doing a spell. How charming."

The spell was a little more difficult without Tara's energy as well, but was still doable. Within moments, the shield went up, trapping Maleficus.

"_Solvo_," Maleficus said, waving his hand. The shield dissolved instantaneously, and Maleficus sneered. "See, I knew you were going to do that again. I love playing with amateurs. What else do you got for me, witch?"

It was the amateur comment that did it, and suddenly, Willow knew what she had to do. Grabbing both Buffy's and Angel's hands, Willow stared down Maleficus and began to chant rapidly in Latin again.

Suddenly, the trio vanished, leaving Maleficus stunned for a moment. "Well, touché, witch. Touché."

In the mansion living room, Willow, Buffy, and Angel appeared, toppling over each other on the floor.

Tara, who had just happened to walk into the room at that very moment, ran over to the three of them. "Oh my god! Where did you all come from?"

"Willow just...teleported us," Buffy said in a shaky, disoriented voice.

"You did a teleportation spell? Willow, that's dangerous!"

"Well we had no other choice! We were out patrolling and Maleficus found us!"

"Maleficus found you? _How_?"

"He tracked us down with his freaky vampire senses! No offence, Angel."

"And you _teleported_? Willow, why not just put up the shield?"

"I did! It was useless! He tore it down!"

"He broke the shield?"

"Yeah. So that's when I had to teleport us. There was no other way to get us out of there." Willow rubbed her nose, feeling a little tickle. When she pulled her finger away, she saw blood. "Oh…nosebleed."

Tara grabbed a tissue from the table and handed it to her. "Here, put this on your nose." She looked to Buffy and Angel. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, just a little dizzy," Angel said, collapsing on the couch.

Buffy sat down beside him. "The room may be spinning, but we're alive."

Tara grabbed another tissue and handed it to Willow. "I didn't know you knew how to teleport."

"Neither did I. It was my first time trying it on myself. Good thing it worked. I figured it'd be a good idea to learn how to do it in case we ever needed a backup plan, which we did tonight." Willow looked to Buffy and Angel. "I'm sorry if the spell made you guys dizzy."

"No, it's okay," Buffy said. "We're fine. I'm just worried about you."

"Oh, it's just a nosebleed. I've had them before when I've done really complicated spells. No big deal."

"Your eyes turned black, Will."

Willow looked at Buffy, surprised. "What?"

"Your eyes. When you did that spell, your eyes turned black. It kind of freaked me out a little."

"They turned _black_?"

"Okay, I think someone's on magic overload," Tara said, helping Willow to her feet. "You need to rest."

Willow nodded. "Yeah. Rest would be good. I'm really exhausted all of a sudden."

"That's because you're drained. Come on, I'll help you upstairs."

Once alone, Buffy turned to Angel, frowning. "What now?"

Angel shook his head. "I don't know, but tonight was too close."

* * *

Buffy stared at Giles, realizing for the first time that a few wrinkles had taken up residence on his face. Frown lines. She wondered if this happened to all the watchers. Was the constant worrying over their charges enough to make a person age quicker? Or was it just because she'd been lucky enough to live longer than most slayers, thus giving Giles more time to worry?

"I don't think you should patrol for a while. It may be best to lay low for a while."

"Giles, I'm not going to do that! I'm not going to let Maleficus make me hole up inside like a coward! I won't give him the satisfaction!"

"And risk your life?" Giles countered.

"And risk the lives of others? Of innocent people out there _I'm_ supposed to protect? Will, do you think you'd be able to do that teleportation spell again?"

"Yeah, I could. But it's not the kind of spell I could do all the time. It sort of takes a lot out of me."

"The spell you did was incredibly dangerous, Willow," Giles said.

"Well what was I supposed to do, Giles? Let us all die?" Willow asked, her voice up a few octaves. "If I hadn't gotten us out when I did, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now! _We'd be dead!"_

"I'm very grateful you were able to get out of that situation alive," Giles said. "I just wish you hadn't been in that kind of situation in the first place."

"Spike and I could patrol," Angel said, offering a suggestion.

Buffy turned to Angel, a worried expression on her face. "Maleficus is just as dangerous to you too."

"Maybe, but we're not exactly on his radar of targets to kill."

"You're on my side. Of course your targets. Don't you remember what he said? You're the 'vampire that betrays his own kind'."

"I'll be careful," Angel promised.

"So that's it? Decision made?" Buffy looked from Angel to Giles. "I don't get to patrol?"

"I can do the spell again!" Willow insisted.

"No, Willow," Tara said, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous."

"I got a nosebleed! Big whoop!"

"You know that's not what I'm worried about," Tara said softly.

"Well what else could possibly go wrong?" Buffy asked.

Tara looked down, quiet again, so Giles answered for her. "Magic can easily become an addiction, and like all addictions, it can become quite destructive. And once a person gives themselves over to the magic, it's nearly impossible to not be tempted by the dark forces. All you have to do is to look at Maleficus, and see how destructive that sort of power can become."

"Giles, you know I'm always careful," Willow said softly. "I'd never go dark! How could you even compare me to him?"

"Willow, I'm not—I'm certainly not comparing you to Maleficus. I'm just trying to warn you how dangerous power like you have can become."

Buffy glared at Giles, her arms crossed. "So what are we supposed to do? Give up?"

Giles looked at Buffy, a worried expression etched on his features. "No, of course not. But I'm starting to feel that this problem may be much larger than we can handle alone, especially given the recent attacks."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, Giles."

"No, Buffy, I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was…well, perhaps we need a little more help. Perhaps an army?"

"You mean Riley."

"The Initiative does have a lot of resources available to them. And we could use all the help we can get."

"If we need a few more reinforcements, I know a guy in L.A. who'd probably be willing to help," Angel offered. "He's a good fighter."

"That would be helpful. Why don't you give him a call? And Buffy?"

Buffy nodded. "I'll talk to Riley."

* * *

"There it is," Xander said as he pulled his car in front of an apartment building. "Building 105."

"Apartment A, right?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah."

Buffy undid her seatbelt and got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Xander."

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

"No, you go ahead. You've got work. I'll walk home."

"Okay. See you later?"

"Yeah. See ya." Buffy watched as Xander's car drove away, then made her way towards Riley's apartment.

She hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened, and Riley stood in front of her.

"Buffy."

"Hi, Riley."

"What are you—um, come in." Riley moved aside, allowing her to enter.

"I'm sorry to just come over here like this unannounced, and so early, but I was hoping to catch you before you left for work."

"That's alright."

Buffy paused, taking in the small living room and adjoining kitchen. Towards the back, she noticed a small hallway, which she assumed led to the bedroom and bath.

Riley caught her glancing around the apartment, then picked up a dirty shirt from the back of the couch and tossed it aside. "I'm sorry the place is such a mess. I wasn't exactly expecting company."

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking that this place looks familiar is all."

"Well, it should. You did live here for a while."

"Right. Can we talk?"

"Sure." Riley led her over to the couch and sat down.

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Actually no, I take that back. I need your help, Riley."

Riley frowned. "What's going on?"

"It's sort of a long story."

"I have some time to kill. And I actually don't have to be anywhere until 11 o'clock. So tell me this long story."

"You remember the night I was attacked?"

"It's etched in my brain, Buffy. Sort of hard to forget that night."

"Well it wasn't just a group of brutal looking vampires attacking me. I remembered something else. There was another vampire there too. And he was very…different."

"Different how?"

"His name is Maleficus. That's Latin for 'evil' by the way, and he's quite possibly one of the most dangerous vampires I've ever come across."

"How dangerous?"

"He used to be a warlock, believe it or not. Mind control magic is his specially. He put me under some kind of spell. It was like I was paralyzed. I couldn't move. That's when the warrior vampires attacked me. That's why I was beat up so badly. I couldn't fight back. He wanted to watch me die."

Riley was silent for a moment. "Buffy, I'm so sorry. That's terrible."

"I'm not the first slayer he's attacked either. There's been several more. I was just the lucky one to survive I guess."

"I don't think I've ever heard of this vampire before. What was his name again? Maleficus?"

"Yeah. And you probably haven't heard of him because he's supposed to be dead. He was resurrected though. Still dead technically, but resurrected. He's extremely dangerous, Riley, and he's planning something."

"What exactly?"

"Oh you know, same game, different players. He plans to open the Hellmouth and leash Hell on earth, or at least to Sunnydale anyway."

"It's always something with that damn Hellmouth, isn't it?"

Buffy laughed softly. "Yeah."

"I wish you had told me about this sooner. I could have helped."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I haven't exactly made it easy for you to come and talk to me. I'm sorry I snapped at you that day on campus. I really wish I hadn't lost my temper like that."

"I'm sorry I pushed you away. I guess this has been really hard for you too."

"You're back together with him, aren't you?"

Buffy nodded, realizing there was no point in avoiding the inevitable. "Yes, Angel and I are back together."

"I kind of figured that when I saw you two the other night."

An awkward moment of silence passed.

"So, when does this all go down?" Riley asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"In almost two weeks. The night of the full moon to be exact. That's a Tuesday. Mainly we're going to need a lot of fighting power. It's bound to get ugly out there with the Hellmouth opening and all. Do you think you could use a few of your resources to help us out?"

"I can do you one better. I'll assemble a team."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter was originally going to be longer, but it turned out to be way longer than I had anticipated so I absolutely had to split it. Which means this story will end up being 71 chapters instead of 70 unless of course, I end up adding another chapter, which hopefully I won't have to do because it's my personal goal to finish this story by the end of the month lol. I have eleven more days. Not sure I'm going to make it but we shall see...

Anyway, how awesome was Willow and the teleporting? :) If you remember way back in one of the earlier chapters, it was mentioned that Willow once did a teleportation spell on a troll, but this was the first time she's actually teleported herself, taking Buffy and Angel along for the ride. Yay for Willow and her witchy magic! Oh, and just in case anyone is worried…even though I made Willow's eyes black, I have no intentions of making her dark! That was just to stress how complicated and powerful that spell really was…

Oh, and I know not all of you will be thrilled that I brought Riley back into the story, but I promise his presence won't be a hindrance to Buffy and Angel! He's really just one more person to help fight, so it makes sense to bring him in. And I bet you all can guess who Angel's going to call, especially if you've watched the first season of AtS. He won't be arriving until several chapters though…

Alright, until chapter 63! (the second part of this chapter lol)


	63. The Lair

A/N: Okay, so just in case there was still some confusion in the last chapter, I just want to clarify something. I'm not making Willow dark! So don't worry! :) Now, she has the _potential_ to become dark, just like on the show, a fact that Maleficus will realize, but I have no plans to bring Dark Willow about because frankly, I can't stand her. Second to Spuffy, it was the reason why I loathed Season Six.

Alright, enjoy the chapter everyone! Until 64...

* * *

Buffy was waiting for Angel when he came down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Angel spotted the stake in her hand. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm waiting for you so we can go patrol."

"You're not patrolling tonight."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Not this again. Angel, you can't be serious."

"I thought we already discussed this. It's too dangerous for you to be out there tonight. You heard what Giles said. You should lay low for a while. Spike and I can handle patrol."

"Oh my god, you _are_ serious! Are you actually putting your foot down and making a decision for me? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I can think for myself! I thought we talked about this before. I don't need a controlling boyfriend!"

Angel tried to ignore the angry glare she was giving him. "I'm not trying to control you, Buffy. I'm just trying to keep you safe. I think it would be best if you would do what Giles and I asked you to do and stay home."

"I don't see what the big deal is letting me come along! And anyway, it's just as dangerous for you!"

"The _big deal_ is that Maleficus tracked you down last night!" Angel spat out, a little angrier than he intended.

"You're being completely unreasonable! Okay, yeah, Maleficus found us! But we probably should have been more careful in the first place. I mean, were we even paying attention to the fact that he was following us? Besides, it's not like we've run into him every night."

"Well I'm not taking that chance." Angel reached for his battle axe by the door. "You're not coming with me."

"What are you going to do? Stop me from following you?"

Angel turned around, glaring at her. "Don't follow me, Buffy." With that, Angel walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Buffy stood in disbelief, staring at the closed door in front of her. She couldn't believe Angel had actually done that. She would have followed him, truthfully, if she hadn't been so pissed off at him at the moment.

Minutes later, she stormed into the kitchen, opened the cabinet and drawer to retrieve a bowl and spoon, then slammed them both shut.

Willow looked up from her bowl of ice cream and watched as Buffy then raided the freezer, taking out the container of chocolate ice cream and throwing it down on the table.

"You too, huh?" Willow asked.

Buffy began furiously scooping the ice cream into the bowl. "I thought I had this discussion with Angel before! He knows I don't like it when he makes decisions for me! But there he goes again, telling me what to do! Like what I think doesn't even matter!"

"Yeah, like what is this, before 1920?"

Buffy gave Willow confused look. "What's 1920?"

"You know, it was the year when women were finally allowed to vote. Before then, women didn't even have a choice. It was like our opinion didn't matter."

"You know what it is? He thinks just because he's older, he knows better, and that because I'm only nineteen, I must not know what the hell I'm doing! Never mind the fact that being a slayer has forced me to grow up early. Never mind the fact that I've saved the world half a million times. I mean, I understand that patrolling is dangerous right now, but it's always dangerous. And I'm the slayer. I should be the one making that call whether or not I should go out there. And Giles is the same way! I mean, what watcher tells his slayer _not_ to patrol? He's _just_ as bad as Angel!"

Buffy, finished with her rant, finally sat down and put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "This is really good by the way."

"Chocolate fixes everything."

"So what's up with you? You don't seem to be your normal Willowy-self."

Willow looked into her bowl, stirring the melted ice cream around. "Tara and I had a fight."

"Over what?"

"She's mad at me over my teleportation spell."

"But, Willow, that spell saved our lives! Doesn't Tara understand that?"

"Oh, she's not upset over that. She's mad because I tried it again."

"You did it _again_? Why?"

"I just wanted to see if I could do it, under less emotional circumstances. Buffy, when I did that spell, I had _no idea_ I had that kind of power. It takes most witches years to get at that kind of level. But when Maleficus surprised us, my emotions were really high, and you need a lot of energy and concentration to do those kinds of spells. I figured that's how I was able to do it. But I tried it again, you know, just to see if I could. And I did. I didn't even teleport that far. Just from one room to the other. But Tara saw me, and she sort of flipped out over it."

"Maybe you shouldn't do it again, Will. If it really is as dangerous as Giles and Tara said…"

"I know, and they're right. I won't do it again, unless of course I have to, like an emergency or something. It's dangerous because it's a really powerful kind of magic. There's a reason why Giles keeps some of books separated from the regular collection. All those kinds of spells have the potential to attract dark forces."

"Can I tell you something?"

Willow nodded.

"I don't want you doing anything that's dangerous, but it was actually kind of cool when you did that."

Willow smiled. "Thanks."

"The black eyes still sort of freak me out a little though."

"Oh, my eyes didn't turn black this time. I know because I did the spell in front of mirror. I was curious about that. I think they turned black before because I was really angry. And it was actually easier the second time. I was still a little woozy afterwards, but my nose didn't bleed. Of course, I was only teleporting myself, and I wasn't teleporting very far, so that could have something to do with it too."

After they finished their ice cream, Buffy and Willow moved to the living room.

On a nearby table, Buffy spotted a small television/vcr combo. "Hey, where'd the TV come from? Looks like Xander's."

"Oh, it is. Tara had Xander bring it over earlier, you know, when she was still hovering over me and not all angry? Hey, want a watch a movie?" Willow picked up a video lying on the coffee table.

Buffy examined the title. "_Leprechaun?" _

"I know it's sort of cheesy, but I thought we would enjoy making fun of it!"

Buffy laughed. "Pop it in. Hey, we should invite Xander over."

"I already did," Willow said, putting the tape into the VCR. "He said it was laundry duty night."

"_Again_?"

Willow grabbed the remote and sat down on the couch. "Well you know, he probably has to wash his sheets a lot."

* * *

This was a bad idea.

What had possibly made Angel suggest patrolling with Spike? It had already been ten minutes, and the younger vampire was already getting on his nerves, as he often tended to do.

Spike walked alongside Angel, his nose wrinkled as he scrutinized his features. "Something's different about you."

Angel didn't respond, and Spike continued to stare at him.

"Yes, something's definitely different, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"I'm a little more annoyed with you than usual," Angel said.

"No, that's not it." Spike moved in front of the older vampire, blocking his way. "Wait a second. I think I might know what it is."

"Spike, get out of my way," Angel said, walking around him.

"You've had_ sex_!" Spike started to laugh. "Of course! I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. I can smell Buffy all over you, more than usual anyway. I knew it was just a matter of time with you two."

Angel ignored Spike, making his way purposely through the graveyard.

"But wait a second. How can _you_ have sex? You're not supposed to be happy. Why are you still your boring version?"

"Spike, I'd really appreciate it if you'd be quiet so I can concentrate."

"Let me guess. Willow concocted some little soul-anchoring spell, and now you two get to shag all you want, huh? So, what's sex with a slayer like, anyway? I bet Buffy's a little bunny in the sack, am I right?"

Angel turned around sharply, grabbing Spike by the collar and shoving him against a crypt wall. "How about we _not_ talk about my sex life?" he said through gritted teeth.

The corner of Spike's lip turned upward. "So you _do _admit there's a sex life now?"

Angel let the younger vampire go and turned around, walking away from him.

Spike quickly caught up to him. "You don't have to get all pissy about it."

"Let's just concentrate on patrolling and less talking?"

"You know, you're going about this all wrong."

Angel glanced at Spike. "Go ahead and tell me what it is. You're just going to tell me anyway."

"We're wasting our time here. Patrolling the cemeteries? I mean, sure, we'll run into the occasional vamp or demon, but that's not where the real action is."

"You have a better suggestion?"

"We should patrol around the high school. Lot more active there these days. Faith and I killed a Polgara lurking around there the other night."

Angel nodded, hating to admit the fact that Spike probably had a good point. "Alright, fine. We'll do it your way. Where is Faith, anyway? You two seem to be attached to the hip lately."

"Taking a night off. I left her at the Bronze. Couldn't drag her away from the dance floor."

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the demolished remains of Sunnydale High.

"Ah, memories," Spike said, ducking his head under a wooden beam as he walked down the hallway. "I think this is the spot where Joyce clocked me on the head with an axe." Spike chuckled. "Guess we know where Buffy gets it from, huh?"

"If you don't be quiet, _I'll_ clock you on the head with an axe," Angel said, holding up his battle axe.

They continued on in silence for a while, making their way further into the ruins of the school. Finally, they came upon a manhole cover near what used to be the natatorium.

"Look what we have here," Spike said, indicating the sewer entrance. "You say Maleficus has a lair underground, right?"

"Yeah."

"Have you been down there?"

"No."

Spike sneered. "Well love had certainly made you addlebrained."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means you've had Buffy on the brain 24/7 that you've failed to realize there's one major flaw in your plan to take him down."

"Alright. Care to enlighten me then?"

"If you've never been down there, are you even certain Maleficus is there?"

"He's there."

"How certain are you?"

"I'm certain."

"Would you put Buffy's life on it?"

Angel didn't respond.

"Not that certain, huh?"

Spike chuckled, then went about removing the manhole.

"What are you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm going down there. Someone ought to do some proper recon."

"Spike, you go down there, you'll get yourself killed."

Spike shrugged. "Good thing I'm already dead." Spike began to climb down the ladder, pausing to look up at his grandsire. "You coming, or are you too scared?"

"I'm not scared!" Angel said, getting defensive. "I'm just smart."

"Well, we'll have to agree to disagree." Spike continued his descent into the manhole.

"Spike!"

Spike ignored him, already halfway down.

"Spike, you idiot," Angel muttered, then reluctantly followed him down the hole.

* * *

"This is certainly different," Spike said, walking further down the tunnel, Angel following behind. "I don't remember this tunnel being here before."

"That's because it wasn't."

Spike turned around, grinning. "This leads toward the lair, doesn't it?"

"My guess would be yes."

"Let's have a looksee, shall we?" Spike brazenly opened the door, and Angel reluctantly followed behind.

Behind the door, a series of tunnels, obviously well-traveled, were carved through cavern.

"This must be it," Angel said.

"If this vamp's so powerful, why does he choose to live underground?" Spike asked.

"He'd old. He's like the Master. They don't like above ground too much."

"Which is why they want to bring the underground to surface. Makes sense. Hmm, what's this?"

Spike turned right, discovering a staircase leading to an underground tunnel. "Wonder what's down there."

"Hell?" Angel answered.

At the bottom of the stairs, an open door beckoned, and inside, several demons were working.

Angel grabbed Spike's jacket and pulled him back, motioning them to hide behind a rock.

"What are you doing?" Spike complained. "Let's kill them."

"No, don't kill them," Angel whispered. "I want to find out what they're doing."

Spike peered over the rock, seeing the demons all had shovels, then turned back to Angel. "They're digging."

"Yes, I can _see_ that. But _what_ are they digging?"

They watched the demons for a few minutes more, and finally, the demons stopped their work.

"They're leaving," Angel whispered.

One by one, the demons tossed their shovels to the side, then left.

Angel stood up and walked over to where the demons had been digging, Spike following.

In the center, a round, metal cover had been unearthed.

"What is that bloody thing?" Spike asked.

Angel knelt down, running his hand against the metal and feeling the indentations of the strange markings underneath his palm. "I was right. This is hell. Or the mouth of it anyway. This has got to be the seal to the Hellmouth. Huh. Never figured it would look like this."

"The Hellmouth has a seal?"

"It probably cracks open," Angel mused, seeing where a jagged line ran across the middle. Angel stood up, examining the rest of the cavern. "These walls have moved before."

"How do you figure?" Spike asked.

"Don't you see the line there?"

Spike looked above them, squinting. "Oh yeah, I do see a line. Kind of like the lines you see on old buildings damaged by earthquakes."

"If I had to guess, I'd say the old high school library is right above us."

"And you didn't want to come down here," Spike laughed. "I knew we'd find something useful."

"I think we should get out of here now, before we run into anybody else."

Spike and Angel walked to the door. The demons had closed it behind them once they'd left.

Angel reached for the handle and pushed it down, realizing it was locked.

"You can't open it?"

He tried again, but had no success. Angel had busted through plenty of locked doors before, but this one, he knew, wasn't opening. "Well that's just great," Angel muttered, walking away and sitting down on a rock. "Not only am I trapped down here, but I'm trapped down here with _you_!"

"Well don't give up that easily. Let me try." Spike tried pushing on the door, throwing all of his weight against the metal, but he couldn't get it to budge either.

"You're wasting your time, Spike."

"You know, if you'd get over here and help me, we could probably open the damn thing."

"No, we can't. The door's magically sealed."

"How do you figure?"

"Can't you feel the energy?"

Spike placed his palm on the door, feeling the vibrations within. "So that's what that is, huh?" Spike then looked around, spotting the weapon in Angel's hand. "Let me see that axe."

"It's not going to work, Spike," Angel said, handing the axe over to him.

Spike gripped the axe tightly, then charged toward the door, slamming the blade of the axe into the metal.

The force of the impact had Spike staggering backward, and the blade of the axe broke from the handle.

"Oh, bollocks!"

"_Great. _Thanks, Spike. That was my _favorite axe _by the way."

Spike examined the axe handle in his hand and tossed it on the ground. "Shoddy piece of workmanship anyway." He walked away from the door, sitting beside Angel on the rock. "I guess we're stuck here then, aren't we?"

* * *

Buffy opened her eyes, squinting at the blue glow of the television. Some late night talk show was on, and Buffy realized she had dozed off.

On the other end of the couch, Willow lay curled up in a ball, her head resting against the arm of the sofa. Buffy grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and covered her up.

She gazed towards upstairs, and noticing the hour, realized she must have not heard Angel when he came back home. She wondered which bed she was going to sleep in tonight. She had calmed down from earlier, but she was still angry with him.

She and Angel were definitely going to have to have a discussion about this later.

Once upstairs, Buffy stopped at her bedroom door, then continued down the hallway, a sinking feeling suddenly settling upon her. Why hadn't she heard Angel come back? Had he even come back at all?

The door to Angel's bedroom was wide open, and Buffy peeked inside. The bed was empty, hadn't been slept in at all, and Buffy frowned.

Angel should have been back by now.

Buffy turned around and quickly made her way back downstairs. She gave Willow a shake.

"_Willow!"_

Willow opened her eyes, blinking a few times. "Oh, is the movie over?"

"Angel's not home yet."

Willow sat up, awake now that she sensed the panic in her friend's voice. "He's not back? What time is it?"

"Just after one. Will, he should have been back by now!"

"Okay, don't panic," Willow said, standing to her feet. "I'm sure he and Spike just got caught up fighting some big ugly. Angel's probably on his way home now."

"Or he's in trouble," Buffy said, her mind jumping to the worst possible scenario. "Will, what have I done? I just let Angel walk out that door and didn't even bother to follow him! What if he doesn't come back? What if the last conversation we ever have is of us fighting?"

"Sit down," Willow said, sensing Buffy was on the verge of hysteria, and Buffy reluctantly sat down. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

"Just to get a few things. We'll do a locator spell. We'll find out where he is, okay?"

Buffy nodded, feeling marginally better. "Okay."

It took Willow only a few minutes to set up things. Buffy remained seated, watching Willow work her magic.

"You sure you don't need my help?"

Willow shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I can do this myself now."

Two spheres of light, one for Angel, one for Spike, circled the map a few times before settling onto a spot on the map.

Buffy leaned forward to get a closer look. "What does it say?"

Willow just stared at the map, not responding.

"Willow! _Where are they_?"

Willow looked up, her voice unsteady. "It says they're at the Hellmouth."

Buffy hopped up from the couch, grabbing her stake from the coffee table.

"Buffy, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Angel."

"Wait! I'll come with you."

* * *

Willow looked over her shoulder as she and Buffy made their way down the dark street towards the high school. So far, they hadn't run into any trouble, but that didn't stop Willow from the feeling that danger was very close by.

Buffy, meanwhile, seemed determined, oblivious to what was lurking in the shadows, her mind set on one thing and one thing only: finding Angel.

Willow implemented her tracking spell, which was similar to a locator spell, she explained. A small sphere of light guided the way, and they simply had to follow it. It would, in theory, lead them straight to Angel and Spike.

When they reached the high school, Buffy took out her flashlight and aimed the beam towards the ruins inside. She remembered the last time they were here was when they had met Merl. She wondered if anyone else was taking up residence inside. Probably.

"Want me to do my light spell?" Willow whispered.

"No, it might draw too much attention."

"Okay." Willow dug into her bag and opted for her own flashlight instead.

The sphere of light led them towards the pool, or where the pool used to be, that is. Near the lockers, a sewer entrance loomed, and the sphere of light sat there, waiting patiently for Buffy and Willow to follow.

"I think it wants us to go down there," Willow said.

"Oh goody. Love the sewers," Buffy muttered, noticing that the manhole cover was already removed, indicating that somebody had definitely gone down there.

Buffy went down first, and Willow followed suit.

The tunnel led them back towards the direction of the library, where the Hellmouth loomed just beneath…somewhere. Buffy and Willow were silent as they made the trek through the sewer, not wanting to bring any undue attention to themselves, although the tunnels were thankfully quiet at this time of night. Perhaps all the demons and vampires were out causing mayhem somewhere above ground.

They followed the small bead of light to an access door, and Buffy frowned. She was pretty sure what this door led to.

"It's his lair," Buffy whispered, giving Willow a worried look. "Will, they went to his_ lair_."

"Don't worry," Willow said, trying her best to assure Buffy that Angel was just fine. "I'm sure he's okay. I guess we better go inside."

Buffy nodded and carefully opened the door.

Inside, a series of underground tunnels had been constructed. Lanterns adorned the rock walls alongside the cavern, making their flashlights unnecessary.

"So this is it," Buffy said, taking in their surroundings. "Pretty elaborate for something underground."

"Buffy, look."

Buffy looked to where Willow pointed, noticing that the sphere of light was going down a tunnel to the side, one that apparently had stairs.

The two hesitantly made their way down the stairs, stopping at a metal door at the bottom. The light hovered above them, waiting for the door to open.

"What do think's behind this door?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Willow placed her hands on the metal, immediately pulling back. "Whoa. Do you feel that?"

Buffy placed her hands on it and shook her head. "Feel what?"

"I feel some pretty strong magic."

"Does it feel evil?"

Willow glanced at Buffy. "Well it certainly doesn't feel good."

"You don't think Maleficus is in there, do you?"

"I don't know, but it's where Angel and Spike went."

Willow reached for the door handle and pushed down. When she realized it was locked, she waved her hand in front of it. "_Expositus_."

The door clicked open, and Willow peeked inside before entering. Upon seeing no sign of Maleficus, or any other big bad, she opened the door fully.

"…and then the demon just ran off with its bloody tail between his legs," Spike was saying, laughing at some story he had been telling Angel.

Angel had only been halfway listening to Spike ramble on anyway, so when the door opened, he became alert, then relieved to see it was Buffy and Willow.

"Angel!" Buffy spotted Angel at the same time he saw her and ran into his arms. "Thank god you're okay!" She pulled away and stared at him. If she hadn't been so relieved, she'd be angry at him. "What on earth on you doing here?"

"It was Spike's idea to take a look down here. We sort of got trapped."

"How did you two get trapped down here?" Willow asked, curious.

"The door was open when we came here," Angel explained. "Apparently it locks when it closes."

Buffy smiled. "I guess you're glad I followed you now, huh?"

Angel nodded. "Immensely. If I have to listen to Spike any longer…"

"Well excuse me if I'm not good company," Spike muttered, offended. "You're boring too by the way."

"So are you two okay?" Willow asked.

Spike nodded. "We're fine."

"What were you doing down here?" Buffy asked, turning to Spike.

"Recon," Spike replied, "which Peaches should have done a long time ago."

"Recon down here's a little dangerous," Buffy said.

"Spike's right though," Angel said. "It's actually probably a good thing we came here. Guess what some demons dug up."

"What's this?" Willow interrupted, staring down at the strange seal on the floor.

"It's what we found," Spike answered.

"It's the seal of the Hellmouth," Buffy said, kneeling down to get a closer look at it.

"That's what I figured," Angel said.

"I remember Giles showing me a picture in a book one time. I knew there was a seal, just never actually laid my eyes on it."

"The magic flowing from this thing is pretty intense," Willow said, running her fingers along the cover.

"Don't touch, Will!" Buffy said, and Willow immediately retracted her hands.

"Why not?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. This thing just wigs me out I guess." Buffy looked up at Angel. "Can we go?"

* * *

Buffy, Angel, and Willow arrived back at the mansion.

Willow immediately yawned. "I'm going straight to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Will." Buffy watched Willow head up the stairs, then turned to Angel. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his chest. "I was so scared tonight."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

Buffy lifted her head and looked up at him. "I kept thinking that something bad happened to you, and that our last conversation would have been of us fighting. I don't like fighting with you."

"I don't like fighting either. And I'm sorry if I was making decisions for you again. I just worry about you, that's all. I don't know what I'd ever do if something happened to you."

"Don't you see, Angel? I feel exactly the same way. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you either."

"From now on, we look out for each other. Deal?"

Buffy nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "Deal. You know, there is actually one thing I like about fighting with you."

Angel gave her a confused look. "What's that?"

"I like the part where we make up."

"I like that part too," he whispered against her lips. He suddenly picked her up, making Buffy giggle, then carried her upstairs to the bedroom.

* * *

"Is it done?"

The green, scaly demon entered his lair, nodding. "Yes, Maleficus. The seal is uncovered, and it is magnificent."

"Good. Did you close the door behind you? I'd hate for someone to come across it and try to put a stop to our plans."

"Yes, Maleficus. No one should disturb it. Is there anything else I could do for you?" the demon asked, eager to please.

Maleficus shook his head. "No, we're done here."

The demon turned to walk away, then turned back around. "Are you sure, Maleficus? I could send someone after the witches again if you like."

"No, don't bother. They no longer concern me."

"You're not going after the witches?" the demon asked in confusion.

"I've changed my mind." Maleficus grinned at the brilliance of his plan. "They're more powerful than I realized, especially that red-haired one, and I'm beginning to think we could use that sort of power."

"I don't understand."

"Wouldn't it be ironic if we could bring them to our side?"

The demon smiled, understanding now. "That would be most excellent. But what about the slayer?"

"The slayer wants to hide for now, but that's okay. She can't hide forever. Eventually she'll come after me. And when she does, I'll kill her with my bare hands."

* * *

A/N: Ooo, Maleficus, yeah, keep talking all big bad like that. Just wait. Ha!

Next chapter should be up soon! Thanks for the reviews!

xoxo

PS: Oh, and one more thing that I want to share that has nothing to do with my fanfic but everything to do with SMG…

*begin fangirl squee*

AHH! SMG fans! Check out the video someone posted from the _Ringer_ discussion panel at Comic-Con! Some nice person who totally rocks filmed it and was kind enough to share it! It's Q & A with SMG and the rest of the cast, including Nestor Carbonell, one of my favorites from LOST! (Man does he make a really good looking FBI agent…) Check out the links in my profile (the video is in four parts) and also, check out the brand new _Ringer_ promo just released! :D I'm so excited for this show! I have a feeling it's going to be HUGE!

*end fangirl squee*


	64. In An Instant

A/N: Okay, I almost never, _ever_ do this, but it has become necessary to make one _teeny tiny_ change to my story. In fact, the change is so minor that probably none of you would have even noticed had I not said anything about it. (And new readers won't notice at all…) But here's the thing…I wrote myself into a little tiny corner.

I'm changing Joyce's birthday. I don't know when Joyce's birthday is. It probably wasn't ever mentioned on the show, (and if it was, ignore it). So I picked one…June 5th. Completely random. Mostly, I just needed a date to put on her headstone in Chapter 14.

And then I forgot about that since it was fifty chapters ago and went and wrote this really beautiful chapter and Joyce's birthday plays a pretty big role in it. And clearly it's August in my story now and not June anymore. All I can say is…oops, but I'm glad I caught my mistake before I posted this chapter, lol!

So anyway, minor change. If you go back to chapter 14, it won't say June 5th anymore. It'll say August 12th…and now we can continue with the story…

:)

* * *

_Buffy awoke, her eyes adjusting to the dim light in Angel's bedroom. Looking beside her, she saw his sleeping form, his face twitching as he dreamt. _

_She slid out of bed, being careful not to wake him, and put on her robe and slippers._

_As Buffy went down the stairs, she realized she was no longer in the mansion, but back at home. Buffy wandered into the kitchen, hearing someone closing cabinets and opening drawers._

_She stood in the doorway, seeing a very familiar face._

"_Mom?"_

_Joyce looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Buffy."_

_Buffy slowly walked into the kitchen, taking a seat at the barstool. "Mom, what are you doing here?"_

_Joyce laughed. "Honey, I live here! I made some waffles this morning."_

_Buffy eyed the counter, seeing stacks and stacks of waffles on several different plates. "Yeah, I can see that. Are you expecting Xander to come over?"_

"_I know I went a little overboard. But you know what? It's my birthday, and today, I'm giving myself a license to eat whatever I want. Here, have some. There's plenty." Joyce set a plate of waffles in front of Buffy._

"_Mom, I don't think you should be here by yourself. Why don't you stay with Giles? Or better yet, go travel for a while? You know, get out of Sunnydale, at least until this whole thing with Maleficus blows over."_

"_Honey, I can't leave now. What would they do without me at the gallery? Besides, everything will be just fine. Stop worrying. Do you want some syrup?"_

"Yes, please," Buffy mumbled, opening her eyes.

For a moment, she was unsure where she was, her thoughts still fuzzy from the dream. Finally, it dawned on her that it was morning. She was at the mansion. She was in Angel's bed.

But her mother was not alive.

The sound of running water behind the closed bathroom door told her that Angel was up and in the shower. Deciding she should get up as well, Buffy swung her legs over the bed and put on her slippers. She then grabbed her robe and headed downstairs.

In the kitchen, she found Willow and Tara, apparently cleaning up after a big breakfast.

Willow looked up, noticing Buffy standing in the doorway. "Oh hey, Buffy. We made waffles. There's still some leftover if you want some."

"Waffles?"

"We picked up the waffle iron yesterday from the house," Tara explained.

Willow held up the plate of leftover waffles. "They might be a little cold, but we're so stuffed we can't eat anymore. Do you want them?"

Buffy shook her head. "No thanks. I'm not really hungry."

"Okay." Willow dumped the leftovers in the trash, then placed the plate in the sink.

Buffy turned away, taking a mug out of the cabinet, then poured herself a cup of coffee.

_I made some waffles this morning._

Buffy inhaled deeply, an attempt to ignore the lump in her throat.

"Hey, Tara, have you seen Miss Kitty this morning?"

"No. I saw her upstairs last night though. I think she was chasing a spider," she said with a laugh.

"Well help me find her. I told you she'd get lost here at the mansion."

"She's a cat, Willow. She'll find us when she's hungry."

Buffy listened as Tara and Willow left the room, and realized she was finally alone. She placed a hand over her mouth, muffling the sob that came out. When she heard footsteps behind her, Buffy quickly regained her composure.

"Is there any coffee left?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy nodded and cleared her throat. "Yeah."

Cordelia poured herself a cup, and Buffy was grateful when she left the kitchen moments after. She needed a moment alone.

It was her mother's birthday today. But unlike years past, she wasn't here to celebrate it this time.

"Hey, there you are."

Angel stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She hadn't heard him come into the room, but then again, Angel was quite skilled at sneaking up on her.

She closed her eyes, leaning back into his embrace. "You smell nice."

"So do you," he whispered in her ear before kissing the side of her face.

Angel reached over her to retrieve another mug from the cabinet, then headed over to the coffee pot. "Looks like this is going fast. Do you want any more?"

Buffy shook her head no.

Angel poured the last of the coffee into his mug, and Buffy moved to sit at the table.

"So I was thinking it'd be a good idea to do some more recon today," Angel said, joining her at the table. "We've only got a few more days to prepare. Might be a good idea to check out some of the other sewer tunnels and get a feel for where we'll need reinforcements."

Buffy nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Angel watched as Buffy stared into her coffee without much of an expression.

"Something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

Buffy looked up, giving him a half-hearted smile at his concern. She knew if anyone would pick up on her mood, it would be Angel. "It's today. It's my mother's birthday."

"Buffy…I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"I had this crazy dream this morning. She was here. Not here at the mansion, but at home. I was telling her to leave Sunnydale because it was dangerous, but she just shrugged it off like it was no big deal and made a bunch of waffles."

"Did anything else happen in your dream?"

Buffy shook her head again. "No, it wasn't one of those kinds of dreams. It was just a regular, non-slayery dream. It was her birthday in the dream though. That's why she was making the waffles. License to eat whatever she wanted. You know, I don't think my mother ever had a bad birthday. Maybe that's why she could never understand why I always hated mine."

Angel reached across the table, placing his hand over hers. "We don't have to do anything today if you don't feel like it."

Buffy gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but I'll be okay." She rose from her chair and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Angel watched as she left the kitchen, her coffee untouched on the table. Buffy may have said she was okay, but Angel knew she was in pain.

He wished with more than anything he could somehow take that pain away.

* * *

_March 8, 2000_

"_Okay, the next time my vision leads us to a two-day demon slayfest in the sewers, remind me to stay at home."_

_Angel walked in behind Cordelia, sitting his axe on the front desk. "Personally, I think that was the most fun we've had in a while!"_

"_Says you! Ugh…I'll never get this demon goop out of my hair!" Cordelia whined, holding up the offending strand. "Why did I have to be the decoy again?"_

"_Well I thought that was rather exhilarating myself," Wesley said, ignoring Cordelia's complaint. "Although I am rather exhausted now. I suppose we can get a few hours of shut-eye before the sun comes up." Wesley grabbed his motorcycle keys. "Cordelia, would you like for me to give you a ride home?"_

"_Sure, why not? I guess having helmet hair won't make much of a difference. I already look terrible."_

_Angel shucked off his leather jacket and peered over Cordelia's desk, noticing the blinking light on the phone. "Oh, we had a message while we were gone."_

"_Well whoever it is will have to wait until morning." Cordelia glanced at her watch. "Or, later this morning rather. I've got a shower at home right now and it's calling my name."_

_Angel pressed the play button on the machine._

"_Angel? Hey, it's Willow. Are you there?" There was a short pause, and Willow began speaking again. "Okay, I guess you're not. I hate leaving this sort of message on a machine."_

_Wesley and Cordelia turned around at the door, curious to hear the message._

"_I was just calling you because…well, something happened and I thought you should know. There was an accident Friday night. Buffy's mom was hurt pretty badly and she, well…Joyce died."_

_Cordelia gasped. "What?"_

"_It was a car accident," Willow added quickly. "Not anything else in case you were wondering. A drunk driver ran the light and hit the car. Buffy was in the car too. She was the one driving."_

"_No," Angel said under his breath._

"_But Buffy's okay! Physically anyway except for a few bumps and scrapes. But emotionally… Listen, I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. Things have sort of been hectic around here. Giles and I have been helping Buffy with the funeral arrangements. It's going to be Wednesday morning. I know you won't be able to be there on account of the sun and all, but Buffy wanted an early service. She said she just wants to get this over with. Anyway, I just thought you should know what was going on here. Buffy sort of needs everyone who loves her to help pull her through. Okay, I gotta go. I hope you get this message soon."_

_The machine beeped, and the automated voice clicked on. "Message left Monday, March 6__th__ at 7:53 p.m."_

_Cordelia stared at the phone, her jaw dropped. "Oh my god! I can't believe Joyce is gone!"_

"_What day is it?" Angel asked._

"_It's…Wednesday," Wesley said._

"_I need to get to Sunnydale." Angel grabbed his leather jacket and began to put it back on again._

"_Wait, Angel! You can't leave now!"_

"_I have to go, Cordy."_

"_But it'll be dawn soon! You'll never make it!"_

_Angel grabbed his keys from his pocket. "Then I'll drive fast with the top up."_

_And with that, he was out the door._

* * *

"Good lord!" Wesley shouted as he struggled with the front door, balancing an umbrella in one hand and a few grocery bags in the other. "It's raining cats and dogs out there!"

Angel ran over to assist, grabbing the bags before Wesley dropped it all. "I can see that."

Wesley closed the door and gave the umbrella a shake before propping it against the wall.

Angel headed to the kitchen, depositing the wet plastic bags on the table. Wesley followed.

"I borrowed your car," he said, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket and placing them into Angel's palm.

"You didn't leave the top down, did you?"

"No, of course not, but you're lucky I was out so early. I left right before the rain started. You should really be more careful with that convertible. The interior could have been completely ruined."

"It hardly ever rains in southern California," Angel said with a shrug.

"Well according to the forecast, we're in for an all-day rain event. I imagine we'll get our total for the year today."

"Hey, Wesley? Where's the nearest florist? Do you know?"

Wesley momentarily stopped unloading the groceries from the bag, confused at the abrupt change in subject. "Florist?"

"Yeah. The one on Maple St. just closed not a week ago."

"Hmm, well I don't know. There were some flowers at the supermarket."

"'Flowers at the supermarket'?" Cordelia scoffed as she walked into the kitchen, overhearing their conversation. "No, no, no. If you want to impress Buffy, you don't buy her wilted flowers from the _Stop and Shop_!"

Angel turned to Cordelia. "Cordy, you would know. Where's the nearest florist?"

"Well there's one at the corner of Sunset and Ocean. It's pretty nice."

Angel nodded. "Right. I think I know where that is. Thanks, Cordelia. Wes, can I borrow your umbrella?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

"What's he up to?" Cordelia asked after Angel left the room.

Wesley shrugged. "I have no idea."

* * *

_Buffy's hands were shaking as she reached for her phone and pressed a few numbers._

"_Please," she begged, willing to hear an operator's voice after the third ring. _

"_911. What's your emergency?"_

"_There's been a car accident! A truck slammed into us! My mom!"_

"_Your mom is hurt?"_

"_Yes!"_

"_Is she conscious?"_

"_No," Buffy cried._

"_Is she breathing?"_

"_I—I think so." Buffy reached out, taking hold of her wrist. "She has a pulse."_

"_I need your location."_

"_It's weak. Her pulse is weak!"_

"_Ma'am?"_

"_What?"_

"_I need to know where you are so I can send the paramedics."_

"_An intersection. It's Mercer and…Glendale I think."_

"_Are you hurt?"_

"_I—I'm fine but my Mom!"_

"_Is anyone else injured?"_

"_I-I don't know."_

"_Try to stay calm. The paramedics are on their way now."_

"_Buffy?" Joyce said as she slowly came to._

"_Please hurry!" Buffy threw the phone down. "Mom! Thank god!"_

"_Are you hurt?"_

"_No, I'm fine. You're bleeding."_

"_Buffy—"_

"_Don't talk. Save your strength. I called 911. We've got to stop the bleeding!" Buffy took off her cardigan and held it on her mother's head._

"_Buffy—I have to tell you something," Joyce said, her voice trembling. "I'm so proud of you. Of everything you do. Of everything you are. I'm so, so proud of you."_

"_Mom, don't talk like that! The paramedics are on their way. You're going to be just fine!"  
_

"_Being your mother, Buffy. It's the greatest thing I've ever done in my life."_

"_Mom—"_

"_Not every mother can say their daughter has saved the world. I'm so proud of you, Buffy. I love you."_

"_I love you, too," Buffy cried. "But stop talking like you're dying. You're going to be okay."_

_Buffy whipped her head around at the sound of sirens in the distance. She felt relieved, turning back to her mother. "See! They're here already—Mom? Mom, wake up!" _

* * *

Angel found Buffy in his bedroom. She was sitting on the bed in her robe, her hair still damp from her shower, and she was writing in a book which he recognized as her diary.

"Hey."

Buffy looked up and closed the book. "Hey."

"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to interrupt what you were doing."

"You didn't. I was actually finished writing. I remembered something."

Angel sat down on the bed beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I remembered the car accident me and my mom were in. I mean, not the actual crash itself, but the moments after. My cell phone had fallen on the floor, and I couldn't find it at first. And Mom was unconscious. Then I finally found my phone and called 911, and Mom came to and started talking like she was dying. I kept telling her she was going to be okay. She was going to be just fine. But I think we both knew that she wasn't." A tear rolled down Buffy's cheek, and she wiped it off with her finger.

Without a word, Angel wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. Buffy leaned into him, her sobs subsiding.

"Do you feel like going anywhere today? I'd like to take you somewhere. I think it'll help."

"Okay."

"Why don't you get dressed and meet me downstairs?"

Buffy nodded, and Angel kissed her forehead, then rose to his feet. He looked at Buffy once more before leaving the room. She smiled at him, and Angel knew that even though she'd have this pain for a long time, she would be okay.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Angel asked, standing at the door when Buffy came downstairs.

She stood for a moment, staring at him with a baffled expression. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Angel shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Your cover blanket!" Buffy said with a laugh.

Angel smiled. "Oh…that. Don't need it."

"But it's _daytime_."

"Yes, but it's also very cloudy." Angel opened the front door, letting the rain pour in. "And very wet. We just need this." Angel picked up Wesley's umbrella and opened it. "Come on."

Buffy laughed, then followed him out the door.

They huddled underneath the umbrella as they walked to the car. Angel opened the passenger door and held the umbrella over Buffy as she got in, then headed over to his side.

Buffy watched with amusement as Angel struggled to close the umbrella amidst the pouring rain, which blew inside out as he tried to get into the car. Finally, he got it closed, and Angel got inside the car, soaked.

"I guess there was no point to using this," he said with a chuckle, looking down at his wet shirt before tossing the umbrella in the back seat.

Buffy continued to smile at him, and Angel caught her gaze.

"What?"

"I just don't get to see you that often in the daytime light. I mean, it's cloudy, but still… Are you _sure_ you're going to be okay?"

"Well I haven't burned yet. I'm more resistant to the sun because of my age. And I have another blanket just in case." Angel pointed to the back seat.

Angel put the key in the ignition and started the car. "Oh good, Wes filled her up gas. That means I don't have to."

"Where are we going?"

"To pick up something."

"You're going to do that thing, aren't you?"

"What thing?"

"That thing where you decide it'll be fun to be all vague around me."

Angel gave her a smile. "You'll see."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they pulled into a parking space, and Buffy looked at the shop in front of them. "A florist? Why are we at a florist?"

Angel turned the engine off and turned to look at her. "I thought maybe you'd like to pick up some flowers to put on your mother's grave. Since it's her birthday and all."

Buffy smiled at him, feeling tears start to well again in her eyes. "That's really sweet."

"What was your mother's favorite flower?"

Buffy was silent for a moment as she pondered the question. "She didn't have one particular favorite flower. She sort of liked them all. But I do remember when we lived at the old house, the one in L.A., we had this beautiful rosebush in the backyard. It had these big, fat pink roses on it. When I was little, I'd cut some of the buds off and bring them to her. And she'd put them in a tiny vase and place it in the middle of the table. She didn't seem to mind that her rosebush looked like someone took a hacksaw to it." Buffy laughed at the memory.

"Pink roses. That sounds easy enough. Stay there." Angel grabbed the umbrella from the back seat and got out of the car. He walked over to Buffy's side, opening her door and holding the umbrella for her.

They made a dash for the shop as the wind picked up, blowing the rain sideways and getting their clothes wet anyway. Angel was right…the umbrella was useless.

Inside the shop, they browsed for a moment before a woman behind the counter saw them.

"Hi there, can I help you?"

Angel walked to the counter and gave her a smile. "We'd like to get some pink roses."

* * *

_Angel pounded on the door, hoping someone would let him inside. He tried the doorknob out of desperation, but it was locked. He could break the door down, but that would be rude. He'd been about to head back to the shade of his car when the door finally opened, and Angel pushed past the figure and rushed inside. He threw the dark blanket off his smoky body and turned around to see a surprised Willow._

"_Angel! Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have taken my time answering the door."_

"_It's okay, Willow. I probably should have called first, but I just got your message and came straight here." Angel nodded towards upstairs. "How is she?"_

_Willow shook her head. "Not good. She hasn't come downstairs in three days. She sleeps all day, she doesn't eat. She won't even get dressed, and the funeral's in just a few hours."_

"_She still says she's not going," a blonde girl said as she made her way down the stairs. The girl looked at Angel, surprised. "Sorry. I didn't know we had company."_

"_Oh, Tara, this is Angel. He's uh…"_

"_An old friend," Angel answered, although that was an understatement. He had been so much more to her._

"_She has to go," Willow said, turning back to Tara. _

"_I tried talking to her. She wouldn't even listen. Wouldn't hardly even look at me." _

"_Willow, is someone here?" asked a man's voice. He walked down the stairs and stared at Angel. "You're not Buffy's dad."_

"_Riley, this is—"_

"_I know who he is," Riley said, interrupting Willow. "You're Angel. I've seen pictures of you."_

"_I need to see Buffy."_

"_I don't think that's such a good idea right now," Riley said, standing in front of Angel to block his path._

"_I need to see Buffy," Angel repeated._

"_Riley, it's okay," Willow said. "I called him."_

_Riley glared at Angel, but seemed to back off. Angel headed up the stairs._

"_Angel?" _

_Angel turned around, seeing Willow's worried eyes. "Try to convince her to go. It's her mother's funeral."_

_Angel nodded, then continued up the stairs._

_The door to Buffy's room was closed. Angel opened it, seeing Buffy in bed with her back to the door. _

_She turned around. "I told you, I'm not—Angel?"_

Angel walked over to bed, sitting beside her. "I'm so sorry about your mother, Buffy. I came as soon as I heard."

_Buffy slowly moved to a sitting position. Her face was tear-streaked, her eyes puffy from crying. "You didn't have to come here."_

"_I had to see you. I'm worried about you. I know you and mother were close. Is there anything I can do?"_

"_How about turning back time? Can you do that?" Angel didn't respond. "Sorry. Oh god, I'm sorry. I know you're just trying to help. I'm not going to the funeral." Buffy laid back down on the bed, turning away from him._

"_I think you're making a mistake."_

_Buffy turned back around, but instead of seeming angry, she only seemed more sad. "I can't do it, Angel. I can't face all those people. I'm not strong enough to deal with this."_

"No one knows how to do this, Buffy. And no one is expecting you to act in a certain way. You need to grieve. Everyone understands that. Your friends just want to help."

"_This can't be happening. This just doesn't seem real. My mom wasn't supposed to die!"_

"_It's never going to make sense."_

"_I don't want to go," Buffy said with sob. She sat up, collapsing into his arms, and Angel held her close to him. "I'm not ready to say goodbye."_

"_I know, but you have to."_

_She sobbed against his chest for a few moments, and Angel simply held her._

_Buffy pulled away, wiping a tear that had fallen down her cheek. _

"_No one likes to go to funerals, but it's just one of those things in life that we all have to do at some point. If you never go, you'll end up regretting it, and you'll never get any kind of closure."_

"_Okay. I'll go."_

_A knock on the door interrupted them, and Angel turned around to see Riley standing in the doorway. "Buffy, your dad just called. He said he'll be here in a few minutes." Riley walked into the room and stood beside the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to go?"_

"_She's going to go," Angel said. He stood up and watched as Riley took his place. _

"_You're going to go? Are you sure?"_

_Buffy nodded, and Riley wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay. I'm here."_

_Buffy sobbed quietly, burying her face into Riley's shoulder._

_Angel watched the two for a moment and slowly backed away, suddenly feeling out of place._

"_Where's your black dress? In the closet?" _

_Buffy nodded, her sobs subsiding some. _

_Angel glanced once more at Buffy, then turned around and walked out of the room._

* * *

The rain was still coming down in torrents when they arrived at the cemetery. Angel parallel parked the car and got out, struggling with the umbrella once more. Buffy climbed out on her side and made a run for Angel's side. She was already wet. What was a little more rain?

Holding the roses in one hand and Angel's arm in the other, Buffy walked across the cemetery.

When they arrived at her mother's headstone, Angel offered to hold the umbrella over her, but Buffy shook her head. "I'm already wet. Could you just give me a moment?"

"Sure."

Buffy pulled the hood on her sweater over her head and walked the few steps to her mother's grave. She kneeled down on the ground, deciding it didn't make much of a difference if her pants were wet too, and placed the roses by the headstone. She ran her fingers over the inscription. _Joyce Summers_.

"Happy birthday, Mom," she whispered.

* * *

When they arrived back at the mansion, Buffy claimed she felt exhausted.

"The rain makes me sleepy," she explained.

They both changed into dry clothes, and Angel, feeling tired himself, laid down and patted the space beside him. Buffy curled up next to him, grabbing the blanket at the edge of the bed to cover them both, then wrapping her arm around his waist. Angel, in turn, moved his arm behind her and held her close.

For a while, a comfortable silence settled upon them as they listened to the rain falling outside.

"Thank you for everything you did today."

"I didn't do much."

Buffy looked up at Angel, smiling. "But you did. You knew exactly what I needed to make me feel better. I didn't even have to tell you."

Angel smiled back at her. "I'm glad I could help."

A low rumble of thunder sounded outside, and the rain outside picked up, beating the panes of glass furiously.

"I love the rain," Buffy said softly as she closed her eyes, resting her head on Angel's chest.

Angel kissed her forehead. "Me too," he said before closing his eyes as well.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so this chapter didn't advance the plot that much, but there was actually a point to it. This chapter was mostly to remind everyone that Buffy is still very much grieving for her mother. Also, the flashbacks were intended to give you a glimpse of what happened before the story started. If you want to, you can reread chapter 14 for the other flashback to get the full effect…

Now before anyone says that Angel could not be outside in the daytime when it's raining, let me explain my reasoning for his ability to do this. This idea was sort of explored on the show when Angel could walk around when it was snowing. It was cloudy. I figure a snowy day isn't much different than a rainy day. Also, it has been mentioned that the older a vampire is, the more resistant to sunlight they are. And it's not as if Angel was completely exposed. He_ did_ had a huge umbrella to cover him! (Most of the time anyway…you know, when it wasn't blowing inside-out, lol)

Until 65!


	65. With This Ring

Angel smiled in his sleep.

It was a dream he'd had before. He with Buffy by his side, dressed from head to toe in white silk and lace. They held hands and together, stood before a priest, reciting vows.

"Into this holy estate, these two persons present now come to be joined. If any man can show just cause why they should not be lawfully joined together, let him speak now, or else, hereinafter, hold his peace."

They exchanged rings, and he was vaguely aware of the priest announcing them husband and wife. All he could see was Buffy, smiling at him.

_She was so beautiful._

"You may kiss your bride."

He gently lifted her veil and kissed her lips.

Somewhere behind them, there was applause, and Buffy turned around, holding his hand tighter as she began to walk.

Angel glanced at the audience, noticing that this time around, the church wasn't empty.

As they made their way up the aisle, Angel spotted Willow and Tara sitting on Buffy's side. They smiled as they walked past. Giles sat behind them, along with Anya and Xander, who seemed to be on his very best behavior.

Looking to his side, Angel saw Wesley and Cordelia. Wesley gave him a nod, while Cordelia was grinning ear to ear, giving them two thumbs up as they walked past.

Spike and Faith were two seats behind them. Faith simply smiled, while Spike grinned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Anxious for the wedding night?"

Down the aisle, the church doors loomed, and a sense of dread suddenly settled upon him. Angel remembered this part of the dream.

He and Buffy would walk out into the sunlight, and Buffy would get hurt.

Angel tried to stop moving, but his feet kept walking, and Buffy kept urging him on. She was simply beaming with happiness, as if she was so eager to start their lives together.

Angel braced himself as they walked through the doors, knowing full well the sunlight would be beaming down on them any moment.

_But it was night. _

Angel shook his head in confusion, and Buffy moved on, unaware of his hesitation.

"Look, it's so beautiful," she said, staring up at the sky.

Angel looked up, seeing a sky full of stars. It was as if every star in the sky could be seen tonight. "Yeah," he said after a moment, laughter in his voice. "It's beautiful."

* * *

Buffy traced the outline of Angel's tattoo with her finger. She known about the tattoo for a long time now, and she'd seen it up close and personal many times. She wondered why she never thought to ask him about it.

"Are you drawing on my back?" Angel asked.

Buffy giggled. "Sorry. Are you awake?"

Angel turned around, wrapping his arms around her. "I am now." He smiled and kissed her good morning.

"I was looking at your tattoo," she explained. "What does it mean?"

"It's a gyphon, a mythological creature. Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle. It symbolizes power. I saw the design in the Irish Book of Kells and admired the artwork. And the 'A' stands for…well, you know. I got it when I was…him."

"Why did you get it on your back? You can never see it, not even in the mirror."

Angel gave her a smile. "I know. I thought about that after the fact. I may have been a little intoxicated at the time."

Buffy laughed with him.

"Maybe I should get another tattoo," Angel mused, pulling Buffy closer to him. "In a place where I could see it."

"What would you get?"

"Maybe one of those big hearts?" he replied. "One with your name in the middle."

Buffy laughed. "A heart with my name in it?"

"Yeah. To show how much I love you."

"Oh. Well you don't need a tattoo for that," Buffy whispered as she pressed her lips against his.

* * *

Buffy gazed down at the selection of rings in the glass case. There were so many to choose from, but she didn't see what she was looking for.

The clerk, having just finished helping another customer, ambled over to Buffy's side. "May I help you, miss?"

Buffy looked up and smiled at the old man. "I hope so. I'm looking for a very specific type of ring for my boyfriend. One that looks just like this one." Buffy held up her left hand, showing him the ring on her finger. "He had a ring like this but he lost it and I'm trying to find a duplicate to match mine."

The man adjusted his bifocals and took a closer look. "Ah yes, a Claddagh ring. I have exactly what you're looking for."

"You do?"

He led Buffy to the other showcase and pulled out a selection of men's rings.

Buffy looked at the different Claddagh rings. She hadn't realized there were so many different kinds. Gold bands, silver bands, some with diamonds. But the one that caught her eye was simple, just like hers, and she pointed to it. "Can I see that one?"

The man picked the ring out and handed it to her. "We have that one in several different sizes. Which size are you looking for?"

Buffy frowned. "Oh, I don't know."

"We can always have the ring resized if it doesn't fit."

"Can I see this one in a size bigger?"

"Sure." He knelt down and looked through his cabinet, finding another Claddagh ring. Buffy took them both and examined the size of each.

"I think this one should be about right," she said, holding up one of them. "I'll take it."

* * *

Buffy rested her feet on Angel's lap as he read one of his many books. She liked to watch him read; the way he concentrated as his eyes roamed the text, the way he slowly turned the page as to not crease the paper. It was no wonder he was well versed in so many subjects.

She thought of the ring upstairs in their bedroom, and grew excited about giving it to him tonight.

A knock on the door broke the comfortable silence, and Buffy sat up.

"I got it," Cordelia said, walking into the room.

Buffy relaxed and laid back down, glad she didn't have to get up.

"Yeah, she's here," she heard Cordelia saying. Seconds later, Cordelia walked back into the living room with Riley standing behind her.

"Riley?" Buffy sat up again, feeling slightly embarrassed. There was no reason to be, of course. Riley knew she and Angel were back together, but having the two men in the same room nevertheless made her uncomfortable.

"Hi, Buffy," Riley said nervously, glancing at Angel before turning his eyes back to Buffy. "I um…I was hoping we could…talk?"

"Uh...sure." Buffy looked to Angel. "I'll be right back."

Angel nodded, watching as Buffy followed Riley out of the mansion.

"Awkward much?" Cordelia said.

Buffy closed the door behind her and made her way to a nearby bench.

"So, Riley…what's up? Is something wrong?"

Riley sat down next to her. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm sorry to come over here unannounced like this. You're kind of hard to track down, you know that? Giles had to tell me where this place was."

"Sorry. We've been staying here for a while. It's a little safer. So what's going on?"

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that the day after tomorrow, if we survive tomorrow that is, I'm leaving for Iowa. I've decided to move back home."

"Oh." The news surprised Buffy a little. He had never mentioned anything about wanting to move back to Iowa before. Of course, she hadn't exactly spoken to him in a while either. She wondered how long he'd been considering this move. "Well, what about your job? What about the Initiative?"

"I requested a transfer to Des Moines and it was approved. It's not that far from my parents' home in Huxley. Plus my father wants me to help out with the family farm. It'll be mine one day I suppose. I guess I better learn how to run it. Good thing I like corn."

Buffy smiled, trying to picture Riley out in the middle of a cornfield wearing a pair of overalls. For some reason, she couldn't quite picture it. He seemed more suited for camouflage. "Your family really has a corn farm?"

Riley laughed. "Yeah, they do. Who in Iowa doesn't?"

"What about your apartment?"

"Forrest is taking over my lease. Good timing too. He was looking to move out of the frat house anyway."

"Wow, so you're really moving back, huh?"

"Yeah. As strange as it sounds, I kind of miss the cold, especially around Christmas. And I miss my family. If living here has taught me anything, it's that life is short. My grandparents are getting older. I'd really like some time to visit with them before it's too late."

"You've been thinking about this for a while, huh?" Buffy asked, wondering if their breakup had anything to do with his decision.

"Yes, I suppose I have. Listen, Buffy, I wanted to tell you goodbye now, just in case we don't get a chance to talk tomorrow. And I wanted to tell you also that even though I know you can't remember us, and I don't blame you for that, but I wanted you to know that I think our time together was really special. I will always remember you, Buffy Summers. You're an amazing woman."

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sort of glad you stopped by. There's something that I actually wanted to tell you too."

Riley nodded and watched her intently. God he would miss her.

"Lately I've been getting a few memories back. Not all of it. There's still some large gaps of time missing and a few memories are fuzzy at best, but I do remember us." She looked at him, knowing what she had to say. "Riley, I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I can't imagine what I must have put you through. And I know 'sorry' doesn't really fix things, but I hope you know that I never meant to break your heart."

Riley had waited so long to hear those words, to hear Buffy say she remembered what they had. But now that she had spoken them, Riley knew it still didn't change a thing. "Buffy, you don't have to apologize."

"But I do. I was awful. I pushed you away. I practically waved Angel in front of you and made it no secret that I wanted to be with him without any regard to your feelings. If I were you, I wouldn't forgive me."

"Buffy, I don't blame you for that. Look, I know how you feel about Angel. To be completely honest, I think on some level I always knew how you felt about him. I'll admit I hoped that someday you would feel the same way about me, but I just don't think it was meant to work out for us. All I want is for you to be happy, Buffy. And if being with Angel makes you happy, then I wish you all best. I really hope it will work out for you."

"Thank you, Riley. And I really hope you'll find someone that deserves you. You're such a good person, and whoever that girl is will be really lucky."

Riley gave her a smile. "So, does this mean that we can be…friends?"

Buffy nodded. "I'd like that. And you'll have to keep me updated on how your farm is doing. I might want to…I don't know, buy corn someday?"

Riley laughed with her. "I'm going to miss you, Buffy."

It didn't seem appropriate to kiss, but a hug was just fine, and Buffy put her arms around him and embraced him tightly. "Take care, Riley," she whispered against his shoulder. "Oh, and kick some ass tomorrow," she added with a smile.

* * *

Night fell.

Angel stood at the window, gazing at the moon, nearly full. The night seemed peaceful.

_The calm before the storm._

It was hard to imagine that this time tomorrow, it could all change.

A door closing behind him caught his attention, and Buffy walked into the bedroom.

"I was looking for that shirt."

Buffy smiled, looking down at the long white shirt she was wearing. "It's my favorite, and it smells like you."

Angel closed the draperies and walked over to her. "Then keep it," he said before kissing her. "Looks better on you anyway." He led her to the bed and sat on the edge, pulling her into his lap as he deepened the kiss.

"I have something for you," Buffy said, pulling away.

"Yes, you do," Angel whispered, pulling her back, kissing her again.

Buffy laughed. "I mean something else." She rose from his lap and walked over to her nightstand.

Angel looked on, curious, and saw a small box in her hand. She smiled, placing it in his palm. "Open it. I hope it's the right size."

Angel untied the small bow around the tiny box, then lifted the lid. Inside, a Claddagh ring lay nestled between the velvet lining.

"I noticed you didn't have your ring anymore. When you came back—"

"It was gone. I had lost it."

"Now you have it back." Buffy took the box from him, gently taking the ring out. "I want to put it on you."

Angel gave her his left hand, and Buffy gently slid the ring around his finger, heart facing in.

"Now we belong to each other," she said.

A smile came to Angel's face, which turned into a soft laughter.

"What?"

Angel shook his head. "It's nothing funny. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"When we wear the rings like this, it has another meaning. It symbolizes marriage."

Buffy smiled, examining her own ring, heart facing in. "You Irish people sure are romantic."

He'd been waiting for a sign. Any sign really. And if this wasn't it, then he wasn't sure what was. "Buffy, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About us. And tomorrow. If we survive—"

"We will."

"_When_ we survive," he corrected, "And whenever this thing is over, I'm going to marry you."

Buffy looked up from her ring, her jaw to the floor. "_What_?"

"I know it won't be a legal union, per se. Technically, I'm not exactly alive_. _But we could still have a ceremony. You could still wear a beautiful white dress. And we could marry in a church if you like. I'd just have to make sure I keep my hands off any crosses," Angel said, laughing.

"You want to…you want to get married?" Buffy was still in shock over the very proposal itself. Was it still considered a proposal even if he hadn't actually asked the question?

Angel smiled at her. "I want to wake up every morning beside you, and have you fall asleep in my arms every night. I want us to spend every possible moment we can together. I was miserable without you before, and I made a mistake when I walked away. But I don't want to lose you again, Buffy. I want to be with you. That's all I've ever really wanted. Please say yes."

Buffy laughed softly. "You have to actually ask the question first."

Angel laughed with her, realizing he did forget the most important part. He took her left hand, running his finger over her ring. "Buffy Anne Summers, will you marry me?"

Buffy nodded. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" Buffy threw herself into his arms, making him fall back onto the mattress. She laughed, kissing him. "Yes," she whispered.

* * *

A/N: Okay, a bit on the short side, I know, but major stuff happened! Like, maybe an engagement, perhaps? :) (Did you have a clue with the title of this chapter by chance? Hehe) I'm sorry Joss, I know you like tearing people apart, but I just don't see any reason why Buffy and Angel can't have this at least.

And also, I had to have at least one more fluffy chapter before all the big battle stuff comes up. :)

Yeah, yeah, I know, what's Riley doing in this chapter? I know you all hate him. Hey, he's moving away, isn't he? lol. Okay, seriously, Riley was only there because I felt it would be good for Buffy to finally get some closure from that relationship before she took the next step with Angel. Oh, and no, I don't really picture Riley going off to be a farmer. (But come on, there IS a lot of corn in Iowa! Right? Hah! I just remember this line Buffy made one time about Riley being this corn-fed Iowa boy or something…) He'll probably end up leaving home again after a visit and then go off on another adventure and meet Sam, at least in my head anyway, lol

Well, that's it for now. The showdown with Maleficus is coming up soon. Still working on some of the big battles scenes but hopefully I'll have the time (and inspiration) next week to finish it up. Until 66!


	66. Ready Or Not

The touch of Angel's lips against her cheek stirred Buffy awake, and she gazed at him with sleepy eyes.

"It's morning," he whispered.

Buffy groaned and closed her eyes again. "I want to go back to sleep." She nuzzled closer to Angel, burying her face into his neck. "Let's go back to sleep and pretend it's not the end of the world today."

"It won't be the end of the world."

"Okay. The end of the world for Sunnydale then."

Angel lifted her chin, and Buffy opened her eyes again.

"Do we really have to get up?"

Angel didn't reply, but Buffy knew the answer anyway. She slowly moved to a sitting position, wrapping the sheet around her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Angel asked. He sat up with her, wrapping his arm around her.

"I have to face Maleficus today." Buffy looked at Angel, a worried look in her eyes. "He almost killed me before, Angel."

"What happened to the optimistic Buffy from last night?"

"She woke up." Buffy gave him a half-hearted smile. "You're the optimistic one now. Why?"

"Because I know we're going to get through this. Do you remember when you learned you had to go up against the Master?"

"I was scared out of my mind."

"But you survived."

"I almost didn't."

"But you did. You went up against him and you fought him. And you won."

"And now I have to go up against Maleficus. This will be ten times harder."

"But you won't be doing it alone this time. You know I'll be there by your side the whole time, right?"

A smile came to Buffy's face. "Yeah."

"We'll do this together, Buffy. Together we're stronger. And besides…we have a wedding to plan. You didn't forget that, did you? We're not about to let Maleficus ruin that, are we?"

Buffy shook her head, and a smile formed on her lips. "He'll be sorry he ever messed with us if he does."

* * *

Willow was walking to her room when she saw Buffy standing outside the door.

"_Will!_ Get in here!" she said, grabbing her arm and pulling her inside.

"What? What is it?"

"I have to tell you something! I wanted to tell my best friend first."

Willow knew from the giddy look on Buffy's face that whatever it was, it was good news. And on a day like today, good news was definitely welcome. "What is it?"

"Angel and I are getting married."

"What? Oh my god! Buffy, that's wonderful news!"

"I know! He asked me last night and I said yes! And…oh my god, have I completely lost my mind?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm nineteen years old and I'm marrying my 247 year old vampire boyfriend. Am I crazy?"

"No! No, of course not, Buffy! You're lucky! Not many people as young as you have found the love of their life yet!"

"I can't believe I'm getting married! I mean, I know technically, it won't be legal, but we'll be married in our hearts, and that's the most important thing of all, right?"

"Yes! Yes it is! Oh, Buffy! I'm so excited for you!"

"I'm getting married!"

Buffy grabbed Willow's hands and they jumped up and down.

"What's going on?" Tara asked, walking in and seeing the two obviously very excited about something.

"Oh, can I tell Tara?"

Buffy nodded.

"Buffy and Angel are getting married!"

"Oh my god! Congratulations!"

"Thank you. He said we can marry in a church if I want but I think outside under the stars would be more romantic. Don't you think? That way, Angel can't get burned by anything."

"Under the stars…definitely more romantic," Willow agreed.

"And I want you to be my maid of honor, Will. And, Tara, I want you to be one of my bridesmaids too."

"I'd be honored, Buffy," Willow said.

"Me too," Tara said.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it. I'm actually getting married. This is huge. This is like, a completely grown-up thing to do. What if I'm not ready for this?"

Willow's eyes widened. "Oh no, don't panic now! It's going to be wonderful!"

"It is?" Buffy asked, nervously.

"Oh course it is. As your maid-of-honor, I'll make sure of it."

* * *

Charles Gunn stood outside the mansion and rechecked the address he'd written down.

_It's a big mansion. You can't miss it._

He'd thought Angel had been kidding about the mansion part, or at least exaggerating a bit. But no, this was in fact, a mansion. Gunn shrugged, then laughed. It made sense. The mansion was probably dark and dreary, and Angel was a vampire after all.

Gunn walked up the path leading to the front door and knocked. When there was no response, he lifted the brass knocker and knocked again.

Gunn recognized the well-dressed man who answered the door, and when he spoke, Gunn immediately recognized his accent as British. "Hello. You must be Charles Gunn?"

Gunn nodded and stepped through the door, taking in his surroundings. "Call me Gunn. Wow, Angel said he lived in a mansion, but I wasn't expecting digs like this."

Just then, the vampire in question walked into the front room. "Gunn, you made it."

Gunn walked over to Angel and shook his hand. "Angel. I see you haven't aged a bit."

Angel smiled. "Well being a vampire and all."

Gunn glanced at the two pairs of eyes staring at him, then back at Angel, who apparently realized at that moment that introductions needed to be made. "Oh, Gunn, this is Wesley."

Wesley extended his hand. "Wesley Wyndham-Price. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

Gunn chuckled and shook his hand. Even his manners sounded British. "Nice to meet you too."

"And this is Cordelia Chase," Angel said, nodding toward the brunette standing beside him.

"Hi there," she said with a smile, offering her hand to shake as well. "Angel's told us about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

"I've seen you before."

Cordelia's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? The Tan'n'screen commercials?"

Gunn laughed. "No. I saw you in bed."

Cordelia's smile was replaced with a confused look. "I'm sorry?"

Gunn just laughed again. "At the hospital? After Angel's building blew? He sent me to keep an eye on you and English here." He smiled at Wesley, noting that he didn't seem to take offence to the nickname.

"Oh! Right. I knew that," Cordelia said, laughing it off, slightly embarrassed.

"So, what big bad brings me and the gang here?"

"Gang?" Cordelia asked.

"The guys I hang with," Gunn answered. "They insisted on stopping at some burger joint along the way. What's the name of it? Doublemeat something or other?" Gunn grimaced as if a wave a nausea had rolled over him. "I told them I'd pass. I like fast food just as much as the next guy, but I have to draw the line somewhere."

"Gunn? Oh my god, is that you?"

Gunn looked up at the mention of his name and was surprised when he saw a familiar face. "Anne?"

"Oh my god! What are you doing here?" Buffy skipped over to him, giving him a quick hug.

Angel watched the two for a moment, surprised. "Wait a minute. You two…know each other?"

"We met the summer I ran away," Buffy explained. "Gunn was a regular at the diner I worked at. He'd order a cheese omelette with a side of hash browns every morning."

Gunn laughed. "You remember. It's really good to see you again, Anne. You're looking good so that must mean things are better for you now."

Buffy smiled, wrapping her arm around Angel's waist. "They are. And actually, everyone here calls me Buffy. Anne's my middle name."

"Wow, small world seeing you here. Angel mentioned he was in Sunnydale because of a girl. I didn't know it was you. So I guess you two are together or something?"

Buffy smiled at Angel. "Yeah, we're together. Hey, how's your sister doing?"

"Buffy."

Buffy looked at Angel, seeing him shake his head, as if to say not to talk about it, but it was too late. She'd already mentioned it, and from the look on Gunn's face, Buffy understood it wasn't good news.

"She's uh…she's not with us anymore," Gunn said softly, his eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. Not a day went by that he didn't think of his little sister, and it was still hard for him to talk about her.

"Oh, Gunn, I'm so sorry for your loss," Buffy apologized. "I had no idea. The few times I met her, she seemed like a really nice girl."

Gunn gave her a half-hearted smile. "Thank you. So, how about a change of subject? You said you needed my help?"

Angel nodded. "You're a good fighter, and we need all of fighting power we can get."

"Does he know about me?" Buffy asked, looking to Angel.

"Not exactly. Gunn, you've heard of the slayer, haven't you?"

"A girl with superior strength and every vampire's worst nightmare? Yeah, I've heard of the slayer. A vamp or two might have mentioned her before."

"Well you're looking at her," Angel said, nodding toward Buffy.

Gunn looked at Buffy, his jaw dropped. "No way! You mean to tell me all those times we were chattin' it up at the diner I was talking to _the_ _slayer? _Girl, why didn't you say something? We could have used you!"

"I'm sorry. I guess the subject never came up. I probably wouldn't have been much help anyway. I was sort on hiatus. It was a bad summer." Buffy turned to Angel and smiled, deciding to change the subject. "I can't believe you know Gunn! When you told me you knew a guy in L.A. that could help us, I didn't think it would be Gunn!"

"Hey, now," Gunn said, flexing his muscles. "I may not have the strength of a vampire, but I can fight with the best of them." Gunn smiled, knowing she knew he was only teasing.

"I didn't mean that. I just meant I was surprised to see you."

"I know. So, you never did answer my question," he said, turning to Angel. "What big bad brings me here?"

"His name is Maleficus."

"Something tells me this isn't your run of the mill vampire, is it?"

"Remember our friends at Wolfram & Hart?"

At the mention of the law firm, Gunn smiled. "You mean those rich white lawyer dudes? Yeah, I remember them."

"They raised this vampire from the dead."

"I'm sorry…come again?"

"He was dead, and now, not so much," Buffy said. "I mean, still dead, just…undead."

"Wait a second, I don't understand. Once a vampire is a dead, he's dead. Right?"

"Not always," Angel said grimly. "They used dark magic to bring him back."

Gunn shook his head. "That's seriously messed up. So let me guess, this big bad vampire is raised from the dead, and he's going to what? Take over the world?"

"Not if we can stop him," Buffy said.

"It's going to be chaotic tonight," Angel said. "Long story short, there's going to be a lot of vampires and demons coming out of the woodwork tonight. I need you and your friends to help stave them off while my team and I take care of the rest."

Gunn nodded. "Sure, no problem. We've got it covered. But I got to say something. This place…Sunnydale? There doesn't seem to be a whole hell of a lot of activity going on out there right now. Half the businesses on the way here were closed. Do you really expect it to be that bad?"

Buffy just laughed. "Just wait until tonight. You haven't seen life on the Hellmouth. Trust me, it'll be that bad."

"She means there'll definitely be no shortage of big bads to fight," Cordelia said. "I've lived here for years. Trust me, she's telling the truth."

Gunn smiled. "Alright then. My boys and I'll be ready to kick some ass."

* * *

"So how did you and Gunn meet?" Buffy asked Angel after Gunn had left.

"He almost killed me," Angel said, laughing at the memory.

"Wow, talk about a first impression. I'm glad he didn't."

"Gunn's a good fighter."

"I wish I'd known that back when I knew him. Or maybe it's best I didn't. I wasn't up for slaying that summer anyway."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"You don't talk much about that summer, but I know it must have been hard for you."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, it was. Worst summer of my life."

Angel wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "I hate that I couldn't have been there with you."

Buffy rested her head against his chest. "You were sometimes. In my dreams, I mean."

Angel looked at Buffy and tilted her head up. "I wish I could have been there in person."

"You're here now."

Angel gave her a smile, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

"I can have _anything_?" Faith asked, staring at the array of weapons in front of her.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Take more than one weapon if you think you'll need it."

"I know exactly what I want." Faith reached for the broadsword in the display case, examining the weapon up-close to get a feel for it.

"I'll take this battle axe," Spike said, picking up the shiny-looking axe from the table.

Buffy rushed over and snatched the weapon from him. "No, no! Hands off this one!"

"But you just said we could have any weapon we want!"

"Any weapon but this one. Or that one!" Buffy added, seeing Spike's eyes roam to the sword that had lain next to the axe. "That one's mine," Buffy explained. "And this shiny new axe is Angel's. Replacing the one _you broke_ by the way."

Spike grinned. "You always keep the best weapons for yourself, don't you Slayer?"

"Well we _are_ going up against Maleficus. We sort of need them."

"So what are we going up against?" Faith asked, taking a few practice swings with her weapon.

"Whatever comes at you. But…there's something else you'll need. Hold on."

Buffy left the room and returned a few moments later with another weapon in her hand.

"What the hell is that?" Faith asked.

"It's my rocket launcher," she explained, a grin on her face.

Faith laughed. "A rocket launcher? Seriously? How'd you get your hands on _that_?"

"It was sort of a birthday present. Here, I'll let you borrow it." Buffy handed the weapon over to Faith. "Don't use it unless you really need it though. Which…you actually might need it. Considering the Hellmouth Beast…"

"The Hellmouth Beast?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Xander kicked a rock as he and Anya walked up the sidewalk. "I'm not going to get it."

"No, Xander, don't talk like that."

Xander stopped and looked at her. "Let's be serious here, An, would you rent an apartment to me?"

"Yes, I would!"

"You're just saying that because you're my girlfriend."

"No I'm not. I really think you'll get it. Don't doubt yourself, Xander. Why would they turn you down?"

"Because that woman took one look at me and saw me as an irresponsible kid who lives in his drunken parents' basement and decided not to go to college in favor of working in construction."

"There's nothing wrong with your job. We need good strong construction workers. Nothing would be built without them! And I personally love it when you wear that yellow hard hat. Makes you look really sexy and strong."

"Maybe it won't matter anyway. Maybe it'll be the end of the world tonight and it won't matter if I get that apartment or not."

"Xander—"

"Whoa, check out these wheels!" Xander walked over to the pickup truck parked outside the Magic Box.

Anya walked over to the truck, a wary expression on her face. "What's that contraption on it?"

"I think it's a stake gun! Man, this has to be the coolest truck I've ever seen! It's like equipped for vampire hunting or something." Xander peeked inside the truck, but was disappointed to learn it looked like a normal truck on the inside.

"Let's go inside, Xander," Anya said, pausing at the door as Xander continued to drool over the truck like a kid over a toy on Christmas morning.

"Okay," Xander said, glancing at the truck one more time as he followed Anya inside.

It appeared the rest of the group was already there, including a few new faces who Xander didn't recognize.

"There's a very strange vehicle parked out front," Anya said.

"I assume you mean the tricked-out truck?" Gunn asked, smiling. "Yeah, it's mine."

"It's awesome, man," Xander said.

"It's good for killing the city vamps, especially when there's a gang of them. I'm Gunn by the way. That's 'Gunn' with two 'n's."

"Xander," Xander said, shaking Gunn's hand. "And this is Anya. You must be the guy Angel brought in?"

"That I am. And this is the rest of the gang." Gunn nodded to his friends. "Rondell, George, James, and Beck."

"So you guys like, just fight vampires for fun?"

"Somebody's gotta keep the streets safe," Gunn replied.

Xander smiled. "That's cool."

"I think we ought to get started," Giles announced, getting the group's attention as they all took their seats. "It looks like everyone's here. Buffy?"

Angel gave her an encouraging smile, and Buffy rose from her chair, moving to stand in front of the group. "Okay, now that everyone's here, we'll go over the plan one more time."

On the easel in front of her was a large map of the city's sewer system, and Buffy grabbed a red marker.

"Sunnydale High is here," she said, circling the middle of the map.

"AKA, 'The Hellmouth'," Xander said.

"There are five main entrances to this underground portion. Riley and his men will be stationed at these entrances." Buffy drew X marks on the map. "Riley, is everyone from your camp ready?"

"We're ready."

"Good. Xander, Anya, you two will go with Riley's group."

"Do I get to use a taser?" Xander asked hopefully. He turned to Riley. "Please say I get to use a taser."

"I'll get you a taser," Riley said with a laugh.

"That's so cool!" Xander said to himself.

"Okay, the sewers aren't going to be the only problem spots," Buffy continued. "We can pretty much expect the streets to be overrun with vampires out celebrating. Gunn, you and your guy can handle that?"

"Consider it done," Gunn said.

"Alright, now, the big issue. The high school. I expect our Hellmouth Beast will make an appearance?" Buffy looked to Giles.

"It's inevitable."

"Faith and Spike will help keep him at bay."

"So how big is this beast?" Faith asked.

"You don't remember him, but you've seen him before. He's huge. Three necks, lots of tentacles."

"Sharp teeth," Willow added.

Faith smiled, patting the rocket launcher beside her. "Excellent."

Buffy turned her attention back to the map. "Angel and I will be at this entrance. It should take us approximately five minutes to get to his lair." Buffy drew a line from the sewer entrance to the Hellmouth and beyond.

"Which is where we come in," Willow said.

"Willow and Tara will be stationed here at the school. How close do you two have to be in order for the spell to work?"

"Close, but not that close," Willow answered. "The lawn in front of the school should be just fine."

"Good. I don't want you two to be anywhere near the Hellmouth beast. Okay, so at 10:24, the Hellmouth is slated to open. That's when things will start to get kind of hairy."

"Hairy demons, right?" Anya asked.

"All kinds of demons," Buffy said.

"Some of them actually are kind of hairy," Cordelia said. The group stared at her. "Yes, I've been researching!"

"When the Hellmouth opens, Willow and Tara will start phase one of the spell."

"Which is the part where Maleficus can't do any magic?" Xander asked.

"Right," Buffy nodded. "Will, Tara, are you ready?"

"We're ready," Willow said.

"How long does their spell last?" Anya asked, curious.

"We'll do the spell as long as we can," Willow answered, "or until Maleficus dies and we feel his magic stop completely, whichever comes first. A guess would about ten minutes. Maybe a little longer."

"You can't do the spell longer?" Cordelia asked.

"We could try," Willow said, "but Tara and I can only do so much magic until we're drained, and countering Maleficus's magic won't be easy."

"And it could possibly be dangerous to do the spell longer," Wesley said from the corner of the room.

"Ten minutes is a short window, so we have to work fast," Buffy said.

"To kill Maleficus, you mean?" Xander asked.

"Yes." Buffy pointed to her map again. "Angel I will be here. All we have to do is find Maleficus, and we kill him. And kill any other big bads down there, of course. Then comes phase two."

"What's phase two?" Anya asked.

Giles, who had been quiet during the conversation, stood up and walked to the front of the group. "Phase two is the closure of the Hellmouth and the surrounding underground area by the Hellmouth."

Buffy took her red marker, circling the underground portion of the Hellmouth.

"Permanent this time," Cordelia said.

Giles nodded. "Yes, if all goes according to plan."

"Wait, when you say you're going to close the surrounding underground area, you don't mean the sewers, do you?" Anya asked.

"No, not the sewers, but the lair will be sealed," Giles explained, straightening his glasses. "It's a precaution so in case any, 'big bads' as Buffy puts it, are still down there, escape will be impossible for them. Unless of course they have teleportation abilities like Maleficus himself."

Anya frowned. "But won't Buffy and Angel be underground?"

"We'll be on our way out," Buffy answered.

"But what happens if you close the Hellmouth and they're still underground?"

No one had wanted to think of the possibility, but Anya had voiced it.

"Then we failed," Buffy answered calmly.

"I don't like the sound of this," Xander said, turning to Giles. "Why can't you just make sure they're out of the lair before you close the Hellmouth? Why risk them being trapped?"

"Because if the Hellmouth is opened any longer than that," Giles answered, "it won't close at all."

* * *

The group was literally armed for battle as they made their way towards the ruins of Sunnydale High.

"Well, I guess this is where we part," Buffy said.

"Oh, Buffy, good luck!" Willow said, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Good luck to you, too, Will." Buffy pulled away, glancing at Tara. "You, too, Tara." Buffy hugged her as well.

"We're going to be fine," Tara said.

Buffy smiled at the two of them. "I couldn't do this without either of you. I know I'm asking a lot for you to do this spell. I hope you know how grateful I am."

"We know, Buffy," Willow said, smiling. "We're just glad we can help. Now go kick some _Maleficus ass_!"

Buffy laughed. "You kiss your mother with that mouth, Will?" she teased.

Giles, with a more sober expression, walked over to Buffy and paused. "Do be careful, Buffy."

Buffy wrapped her arms around him. "I couldn't do this without you either, Giles." Buffy pulled away, looking into the eyes of her Watcher. "You taught me just about everything I know."

"I didn't teach you. I merely guided you."

"Teach, guide, whatever. You'll always be my Watcher, Giles."

"So are we ready to roll?" Faith asked, strolling over to the group, Spike behind her. "I don't mean to break up the group love here."

"Yep, we're ready." Buffy gave Faith a smile. "I'm really glad you're here to help. Both of you," she added, looking to Spike.

Faith shrugged. "No problem. Good luck, B."

"Thanks. You too."

"We should get going now," Angel said. "You ready to go?"

Buffy looked at Angel and smiled. "Yeah. Guess it's time to go back to high school."

* * *

A/N: To those of you who might have guessed that it was Gunn I was bringing into the story, you were correct. :) I brought along some of his friends too (so they could use the tricked-out truck, which is perfect! lol). I couldn't remember all of Gunn's buddies so I pored over some transcripts and picked out a few people Gunn had been hanging with. And I borrowed a little bit of dialogue from AtS during the scene when Gunn meets Cordy and Wes, so not all of that was completely mine. It worked for the scene I think.

Oh, and as for Gunn and Buffy already knowing each other, I had this idea that maybe they could have met that summer when Buffy ran away since they would have both been in L.A. at the time. Of course, he'd know her as Anne since that was the name she was going by. I always wanted those two to have scenes together for some reason…but alas, they never did. Oh well. That's what fanfic is for!

Next chapter is the showdown with Maleficus…

Until 67! :)


	67. Hell's Mouth

Anya silently wondered to herself what she was getting herself into.

As they followed Riley and a few of his men down the sewer tunnels, Anya saw a rat scamper past them. Not nearly as disgusting as say, a bunny, but close enough.

She should have stayed with Willow and Tara. That would have made much more sense. She wasn't one who liked to fight battles. Magic was more her forte. So why was she _here?_

"This is so cool!" Xander said, holding up the taser Riley had let him use. Xander repeatedly pressed the button on it, imagining he was zapping a vampire.

Riley turned around, giving him a warning stare. "Do _not _break that."

Xander's smile fell, and he put the taser back into his pocket.

Anya smiled. She realized exactly what she was doing here. She'd go anywhere to be with Xander. In the past, she would have run. She had for the last apocalypse, hadn't she? But now, she was right where she wanted to be. And if anyone was going to mess with her Xander, they'd have to go through _her_ first.

"Any chance I'll actually get to use this thing?" Xander asked.

Before Riley could answer his question, the sound of several voices ahead had the group holding their breath, and their weapons.

"Relax, just us," Forrest said, leading another group from the other direction, and Riley ordered his men at ease.

"Anything yet?"

Forrest shook his head. "No. Tunnels are clear. Are you sure this is all going down tonight?"

"Buffy was sure it was."

"Well if some big evil is going on, it's not happening here," Graham added.

"Then we need to look elsewhere," Riley stated.

"So I'm not going to get to use this thing?" Xander asked, holding up his taser once more.

* * *

They had been looking for trouble, and they found it.

Above ground had been where the real action was.

Riley crouched behind a vehicle, watching the scene of destruction before him. Groups of vampires and demons were causing all kinds of mayhem and destruction in downtown Sunnydale. They vandalized property. They set cars on fire. It was like one big street party gone terribly wrong. Luckily they'd been making such a ruckus that the humans seemed to be staying out of the way.

"Must be a Hellmouth-opening party," Xander said.

"There's too many of them to take out by ourselves," Riley said.

"So what now?" Xander asked.

Riley picked up his phone. "We call for reinforcements."

* * *

Rondell pressed down on the gas, letting out a whoop of joy as he ran down two vampires at once. The stakes attached to the trunk immediately dusted both of them.

At the top of the truck, Gunn sat poised at the firing mechanism, firing one, then another shot, eventually killing a third vampire.

"We need more ammo!" Gunn said, and George reached into the supply bag, grabbing a handful of stakes.

"I haven't seen this much action since the fourth of July!" yelled Gunn, referring to a pretty nasty night of vampire fighting he and the gang had last month.

"This night kicks fourth of July's ass!" yelled James. "Yo, Ron, stop here, man!"

Rondell stopped the truck, grabbing his weapon as he hopped out of the vehicle.

At the entrance to a restaurant, several demons and vampires alike had congregated outside, intending to wreak havoc on several unsuspecting diners.

"We've got work to do, boys!" Gunn said, grabbing an axe and jumping down from the tailgate. "Let's move!"

* * *

Xander discovered a weapon he enjoyed even more than a taser.

A military tank.

He rode shotgun as Riley steered it through the downtown streets of Sunnydale. Now they just needed to find their targets.

"So are you really moving back to Iowa?" Xander asked.

"Yeah. I've got everything packed and ready to go in the morning."

"Why are you moving?" Anya asked from the back seat.

"I miss my folks. And I miss the snow at winter time. It just doesn't feel like Christmas without snow."

"Well it did snow one time," Xander said. "Although that really was the only time."

Riley grinned. "My point exactly."

"I'm really sorry things didn't work out with you and Buffy. You know, out of all her boyfriends, you're the only that I could actually stand. You're a good man, Riley."

Riley glanced at Xander. "I'll always love Buffy. It took me a while to accept that we were over. To love someone enough to let them go is hard, but Buffy and I weren't meant to be. I just want her to be happy. That's all I've ever really wanted for her."

"Looks like we've got some action at twelve o'clock," Xander said, pointing.

"Excellent," Riley said, aiming the tank's gun at a group of demons and taking them out in a fiery blaze.

Xander laughed out loud. "That was so _cool!"_

"Have you ever thought about joining the military, Xander?" Riley asked. "You really seem to enjoy our toys."

"He can't!" Anya said, interrupting them. "He's got a nice construction job. Tell him, Xander!"

"Well actually, I did briefly consider it. This one time during Halloween—"

"No, Xander's not interested."

"An—"

"No, Xander! It's too dangerous. I refuse to be one of those women who waits at home wondering if her man is going to come back home alive. Okay?"

Xander gave her smile, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Don't worry, An. I'm not joining the military. Not today, anyway."

"You want to take out the next group?" Riley asked, giving him a smile.

"Hell yeah!" Xander said, grabbing the firing mechanism.

* * *

Cordelia watched as Giles arranged several candles, amulets, and other objects in a small circle on the ground.

"Oh wait," Giles said to himself, moving one of the amulets to a different position. "It should be there."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Cordelia asked.

Giles looked up at Cordelia, smiling slightly. "Yes, Cordelia, I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, right. 'Cause you're Giles. Of course you know what you're doing. What are you doing anyway?"

"Preparing for the closure of the Hellmouth. It's been a while since we've had to do this."

"And hopefully the last time," Cordelia added.

"It's a quarter after," Wesley said, looking at his watch. "Nine minutes to go. You'll need this, Mr. Giles." Wesley handed him the scroll.

Giles took the scroll, examining the passage to recite.

"Well what are you going to do?" Cordelia asked, turning to Wesley.

Wesley held a book in hand, turning to a page he had bookmarked. "Bind the Hellmouth beast, of course."

"Okay, so what do you two need _me _to do?"

Giles smiled at her as he handed Cordelia a knife. "Try not to get yourself killed."

* * *

"You know what I forgot?" Buffy said as she and Angel made their way to the sewer entrance.

"Nothing important I hope." Angel looked at her, a slightly concerned look on his face.

"No, nothing important. I just forgot to wear a pretty dress."

Angel smiled, remembering fondly the dress she'd worn the last time she'd gone up against a master vampire.

"I like to slay in style you know. I like to make an entrance."

"Oh, you'll make an entrance all right."

They reached the sewer, and Angel stopped to remove the manhole cover.

"Angel, wait a second." Buffy reached for his arm, pulling him back.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say I love you. You know, before everything gets crazy."

"Buffy, what are you doing?"

"I'm just telling you that I love you, because you should always tell the ones you love that you love them, even if they already know. Because you never know how much time you have together. Our lives can change in an instant, you know?"

Angel moved closer to her, brushing his hand against her cheek. "I love you too, but we're both going to come out of this alive."

Buffy smiled. "Kiss me? For good luck?"

Angel obliged, brushing his lips against hers, lightly at first, then a little more passionate before he pulled away.

"Come on," he said, reaching for her hand, and Buffy slipped her hand into his and followed him into the sewers.

* * *

A sharp blade sliced through the fleshy meat of his palm, and Maleficus smiled as the red liquid oozed out and fell, landing on the center of the seal.

"The underworld will awaken," he chanted, walking around the circle as another drop of blood fell onto the seal. "The underworld will arise. The underworld will awaken! The underworld will arise!"

Maleficus backed up as the seal began to glow and slowly cracked open, followed by the cavern walls spreading apart.

The Hellmouth was opening, and Maleficus laughed, enjoying the show.

Down the dark abyss, the beast emerged.

Maleficus held up his hands, emitting an electric jolt to the beast, and laughed as the beast grew several times his size.

* * *

The south lawn near the cafeteria, or what _used_ to be the cafeteria, provided the perfect spot for Willow and Tara to set up. Here, it would be quiet, away from the hubbub that was sure to happen on the east side of the school, once the Hellmouth beast made his appearance, that is. And in order for this spell to work, they needed a quiet space. Concentration was key.

"Are you sure this spot will be close enough?" Tara asked, taking some stones out of her bag.

Willow nodded. "It's close enough."

Taking some herbs out of her bag, Willow began to arrange them on the ground in a circle. "Herbs from the earth to keep us grounded," she chanted, placing the last of the herbs down to complete the arrangement.

"Stones…to give us the power," Tara chanted, placing the stones around the circle Willow had formed.

"Light…to keep away the darkness." Willow held a white candle in her hand and lit it with a lighter.

"Amulets to protects us from evil." Tara arranged the amulets in a diamond pattern within the circle.

When everything was finally into place, Willow and Tara stepped into the circle and sat down on the ground, cross-legged in the center, and joined hands.

Willow nodded, indicating the time had arrived, and together, they began to chant.

* * *

Buffy and Angel hadn't been in the sewers for very long when suddenly, the ground beneath them began shake, and a rumbling sound reverberated throughout the tunnels.

Buffy braced herself against the wall, holding on to keep herself steady. "Earthquake?"

Angel shook his head. "No. I think that's the Hellmouth opening."

Outside the school, the Hellmouth beast, with its three necks and three heads and thousands of tentacles, suddenly emerged amidst the ruins, larger than before. All eyes were on the beast as it took in its surroundings and slithered out of its hole, crushing the walls in its path like a human in a dollhouse.

"Good lord," Wesley muttered, gaping at the beast. He tossed a glance in Giles' direction. "Is this thing _supposed _to be that large?"

Giles had expected an appearance by the Hellmouth beast. He had not, however, expected the sheer magnitude of its size. "I'm afraid it's…grown," Giles answered.

"Excellent," Faith said, grinning ear to ear.

"Now that's what I call a beast," Spike added, holding up his sword, charging toward the mammoth monster.

Faith held up her own weapon. "Beast, prepare to get your ass kicked!"

"What did I get myself into?" Cordelia muttered, holding up her measly knife, the only weapon at her disposal.

The beast, sensing humans nearby, lunged forward. A giant tentacle crashed down, and Cordelia screamed, narrowly avoiding it.

Spike managed to slice off the tentacle with his sword, and then, it was on.

The Hellmouth beast lunged toward Spike, wrapping another tentacle around him as he picked the vampire up off his feet, squeezing him like an anaconda.

"Uh, a little help?" Spike said. He was strong, but the beast was considerably stronger.

"Hey!" Faith hollered, swinging her sword toward the beast. She sliced off a second tentacle, and the beast howled in pain, releasing Spike.

Spike landed to the ground with a thud. "Thank you, luv."

"No problem. You take that head. I'll take this one."

Spike couldn't help but grin. _A woman who took charge._

Spike liked that.

Faith swung her sword against one of the beast's heads, cutting a line from its eye to its gaping mouth. The head lunged at her, snapping its teeth, narrowly missing her prized leather jacket.

"Well now you're just trying to piss me off," Faith muttered. "Try to touch the jacket again and you're dead."

The beast's head lunged for her again, and Faith quickly ducked the head, taking the opportunity to gouge one of the beast's eyes. "I warned you."

Spike, meanwhile, had his hands full with not one, but the two other heads.

"Tag-teaming, eh? Go sod off!" he shouted, kicking one face while using his sword to swing at the other. The face he'd kicked was momentarily stunned, while the second face lunged at him again.

While Giles recited a protection spell he had learned by heart, Wesley, meanwhile, was reciting a passage in the book he'd brought along from Giles' collection. Wesley had contained a beast or two in the past during his watcher training, but never one of this size before.

He hoped it would actually work.

The wind picked up, blowing the page Wesley had been reading. He quickly scrambled to get back to it, then picked up where he'd left off.

Finally, a sticky shield, resembling a massive spider web, surrounded the beast, limiting its movements. It struggled against the web, all three heads hissing and snarling with snapping teeth.

"It's time to bring in the big guns," Faith said, tossing her broadsword aside and exchanging it for the rocket launcher.

"You know how to use that thing, luv?" Spike asked.

Faith shrugged. "Can't be that hard, can it?" She leveled the weapon over her shoulder, taking aim at the beast, struggling in the web that Wesley had spun around him.

"Faith, the web won't hold for very long!" Giles warned.

"Don't worry, G. I've got this covered." Once she had the beast in her sight, Faith fired the weapon.

The rocket hit the beast in its center, causing the monster to scream in agony. Seconds later, a fiery blaze engulfed him, and the beast exploded, its entrails spewing outwards.

Cordelia was unfortunate enough to be in its path. "Why does this _always_ happen to me?" she whined.

* * *

"I don't get it," Buffy said, gazing around the sewer tunnels as they made their way to the lair. "I thought this place would be crawling with demons and vamps tonight."

Angel suddenly stopped, motioning for Buffy to stop as well. "I heard something."

"Or maybe I just jinxed it," Buffy muttered.

"Something's coming." Angel held up his axe, and Buffy reached for her sword, sensing she was actually going to have to use it.

She liked her stake so much better…

"What's coming?"

"That," Angel answered as several strange looking creatures headed their way. He didn't have a name for what it was, but he knew it was trouble.

Buffy shifted into fight mode, swinging her sword at the ugly creatures, who were quick to dodge her weapon.

Now that she could see the creatures up close, Buffy thought they looked like some sort of cross between a vampire and a demon. Their faces were severely distorted with fangs clearly prominent.

They could fight well too, unfortunately.

Buffy swung her sword again, only to have it knocked out of her hand. Buffy jumped, kicking the creature back and catching her sword as it fell back to the ground.

"What the hell are these?" Buffy shouted to Angel.

Angel didn't answer, having his hands full of fighting off three of them at once. He was strong, but so were they. Each time he swung his axe, they managed to dodge him.

Buffy delivered a roundhouse kick to one, sending him sprawling back. But another one surprised her, hitting her from behind and knocking her to the ground. Buffy scrambled to get back on her feet and charged toward him again.

Angel swung his axe repeatedly, managing to get a few goods hits, but the creatures seemed to be unfazed by it.

Which was never a good sign.

Buffy kicked one of them in the back, sending him stumbling forward right into Angel. Angel, taking advantage of the creature's temporary incapacitated state, swung his axe again, neatly beheading him.

He exploded in a cloud of dust.

The realization shot through them both at the same moment.

"Buffy, they're vampires!"

"_Freak vampires_!" Buffy shouted, aiming her sword toward one of the vampire's neck. After a few failed attempts, since the vampire was quick to dodge her, Buffy finally managed to behead one as well.

Another vampire came from behind, knocking Buffy to the ground again. She lost her sword in the process, which the vampire greedily snagged.

"Oh great," Buffy muttered. "Armed freak-vamp." She fished a stake out of her pocket and rose to her feet, dodging her own weapon now as the vampire swung at her.

After a few close calls and a small nick on her upper arm, Buffy kicked the vampire, sending the weapon flying out of his hand, then charged toward him with the stake. She aimed for his chest, but stabbing him apparently had no effect. She tried again, but still no luck.

"Angel, a stake doesn't kill them!"

"Try harder!" Angel shouted, having just beheaded another one. "They look like they have tougher exteriors!"

This was insane.

Buffy dodged another hit from the vampire, then did what she did best. She drove the stake through his chest, this time with a little more force, and he finally exploded.

Buffy picked her sword up from the ground and glanced around, realizing that all of the freak vamps were gone.

"Is that all of them?" Buffy asked.

"For now. I think some of them got away though." Angel pointed back behind him. "And there could be more to follow."

"From the Hellmouth?"

Angel nodded.

Buffy sighed, resting for a just a moment against the wall.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just expecting a fight with something familiar. And that was unlike any vampire I've ever seen."

"Judging from their appearance, I'd say they're ancient. Probably even predate the Master."

"They're harder to stake. I had to attempt several times before I finally broke through."

"Come on, we better get moving."

Buffy nodded and followed Angel.

They reached the lair soon after, the door wide open and beckoning. Buffy held on to Angel's arm as they made their way inside.

Angel paused shortly after, sniffing the air, then nodded towards one of the tunnels. "Maleficus was here. He went this way."

The cavern tunnel was full of twists and turns, and quite long as well. The dirt below was well eroded, indicating it was traveled frequently.

Finally, the tunnel opened into a vast clearing. Angel suddenly stopped, holding out his arm to halt Buffy from venturing further.

"What is it?" she whispered.

Angel led her behind a rock wall, then nodded toward what he had seen.

From their vantage point, they could see a wide circle of candles encompassing an area in the center of the lair.

And in the middle of it all was Maleficus.

* * *

Spike had been the first to notice it.

"Did anyone hear that?"

Faith listened, but didn't hear a thing. "Hear what?"

"I heard something."

Faith still didn't hear anything, but she had been a slayer long enough to know that whenever she felt that familiar tingle up her spine, something needed her attention. She nodded to Spike. "Let's check out the other side of the school. Something's up."

Spike agreed and began making his way in that direction.

"You guys got it handled it from here?" Faith asked, even though as she asked, she was already walking away.

"Yep, Hellmouth beast destroyed. Or…disintegrated," Cordelia said, grimacing at the stain on her shirt. "Oh my god, this dry cleaning bill is going to be—" A roar of motorcycles interrupted Cordelia, and the group looked toward the direction of the noise, seeing a group of bikers coming down the road. And unfortunately, they didn't appear to be human.

"Maybe they're just….having a joyride?" Cordelia said hopefully.

"Or maybe they're heading our way," Wesley said. "I believe we may have trouble."

"No, that's not trouble," Giles said, his voice eerily calm. "That, I believe, is trouble."

Wesley and Cordelia followed Giles' gaze, seeing several strange looking creatures that almost, in a way, resembled vampires, albeit heavily disfigured, emerging from the ruins of the school.

"Oh dear," Wesley muttered.

"Well this was a great time for Faith and Spike to take off," Cordelia added.

* * *

The sound of motorcycles in the distance had been a mild distraction, but Willow and Tara continued on, the importance of the spell too crucial to stop. But when the gang of cyclists headed their way, one brushing the edge of their circle with his tires, Tara knew they could not continue.

"Willow, come on!" Tara stood to her feet, grabbing Willow's hand, who remained seated.

"Tara, no! The spell! We can't stop!"

Tara looked over Willow's shoulder, seeing the same demon turn his bike around and head for them again, along with a few more bikers right behind him.

"Willow, no!" Tara grabbed Willow with all her might, pulling her to her feet. Seconds later, the biker ran over the very spot Willow had been sitting.

"We have to get away from here!" Tara implored, dragging Willow as they ran as far away as they could.

"But we have to do the spell!" Willow turned around for a brief moment, watching as the demon bikers drove around their circle, laughing. She prayed Buffy and Angel were alright.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Cordelia whispered to Wesley.

"I-I'm not sure."

"You don't know? You're a demon expert, Wesley! How can you _not know_?"

"If I had time to research…"

"Unfortunately, there's no time for research," Giles said grimly.

They'd been spotted.

One charged toward Cordelia, and she quickly grabbed her knife from the ground. She buried the knife deep into his chest, while at the same time, squealing as if she were squashing a bug.

The disfigured vampire-like creature made a sound as if he were laughing, pulling the knife out of his body and tossing it far away and out of reach.

"Okay, so for much that plan."

She gasped as he grabbed her, baring his fangs, and Cordelia heard someone screaming, realizing seconds later that it was her. And just went she thought it was over…

He suddenly released her and rubbed the back of his head, his attention pulled to somewhere behind him.

Wesley stood, crossbow in hand, and poised to shoot another one.

Nearby, Giles was silently thinking to himself that he was definitely getting older. He reflexes weren't quite as quick as they used to be, but he fought off the attacker as best he could. He swung at his attacker with a morgenstern, frowning as the creature ducked his move every time.

The creature bared his fangs and picked Giles up, throwing him down on the ground. Giles straightened his glasses and looked up at the creature above him. He realized now what it was.

"Good god, it's a Turok-han vampire!" he shouted to Wesley. "I thought they were a myth!"

Wesley shot his crossbow again, hitting the creature square in his chest. The vampire, however, simply pulled the arrow out and tossed it to the ground.

"I can't penetrate his chest!" Wesley shouted back to Giles.

Giles reached for a vial of holy water in his pocket, throwing the contents in his attacker's face. He was disappointed to see that apparently, it didn't seem to faze him. It had been a long shot anyway.

Giles felt himself being lifted from the ground again.

"Hey!" Cordelia shouted, striking the creature with a wooden beam she'd found on the ground.

The creature dropped Giles, turning to Cordelia.

"Get down, Cordelia!" Wesley yelled, throwing another arrow toward the creature's face.

The vampire, forgetting Cordelia, suddenly began to give Wesley chase.

"We'll have to close the Hellmouth soon!" Giles shouted, scrambling to grab his book from the ground. "This is only the first wave of evil to emerge!"

"You mean second!" Cordelia said, holding on to her wooden beam as if her life depended on it. "The first was that hell beast! We need some serious help!"

Help arrived in the form of five men in a tricked-out pickup truck.

Gunn was at the wheel now, ignoring all speed limits as his truck came barreling down the road. He jumped the curb and headed in their general direction, taking out one of vamps with the stakes attached to the hood.

"Sorry, guys! Runnin' away ain't an option!" Gunn yelled out from his window as the truck ran over two more.

Giles, Wesley, and Cordelia let out a collective sigh of relief.

"I say we leave the demon fighting to those who can actually fight," Cordelia said.

"Excuse me," Wesley said, slightly offended. "I'll have you know I'm a skilled watcher as well as a former rogue-demon hunter. I'm trained to fight."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You want to go up against that thing again?"

Wesley shook his head. "That's quite alright. I'll pass."

A few stragglers emerged from the school, but Gunn and his men were quick to take them out. If the stake gun didn't work, which apparently, it didn't always against these guys, then the stakes attached to the vehicle certainly did.

"Hey, that one's getting away!" George shouted, pointing away from the school.

Gunn laughed. "Oh it's on!"

With that, Gunn stepped on the gas and returned to the road, ready to give the remaining vampire chase.

* * *

Maleficus stood in the center of his circle, chanting in Latin and apparently in a trancelike state.

"What's he doing?" Buffy whispered.

"Doesn't matter. We're going to stop him."

"We better go. We don't have a lot of time."

"Wait just a minute," Angel said, holding her back. "Let's let him think for a moment it's just you. I'm going to go around behind him. Give me just a minute."

Buffy nodded and watched as Angel crept to the other side of the cavern.

Buffy waited a minute more until Angel was in position, and Maleficus was at the height of his chanting.

Perfect time to interrupt him.

"Hey, Maleficus!"

Maleficus stopped his incantation and turned to see Buffy standing before him.

"Sorry to interrupt your…chanting. Or whatever."

Maleficus sneered. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the very slayer herself. Had a feeling you would show up. Was counting on it, actually."

"Surprised this little meeting of ours wasn't sooner. Haven't you been trying to kill me for two months now? Boy, for some vampire as ancient and powerful as you are, you really sort of suck at that."

Maleficus just laughed. "I got bored trying to track you down. Besides, I knew you'd come to seek me out eventually."

Buffy shrugged and took a step closer, her sword at the ready, and a stake in her pocket. "Well, you know. Didn't want to miss the big party. So, are we going to do this thing, or what?"

He'd been about to answer when suddenly from above, Angel crashed down on him, pushing Maleficus to the ground. Angel wasted no time taking out his anger on the vampire, growling as he struck Maleficus in the face with the backside of his weapon.

"I'll been wanting to kill you for a long time for what you did to Buffy," Angel said, giving Maleficus a menacing stare. "But as much as I want to kill you, I'm going to let her do the honors."

Maleficus had just started to get up off the ground when Buffy aimed the heel of her boot against the back of his head, knocking him down again. "Oh look! You've fallen and you can't get up! Guess you got to watch out for those brittle bones in your old age, huh?"

Maleficus' eyes turned red with fury as he stared at Buffy, then at Angel. "You two have just made a grievous error."

Maleficus raised his arm, sending Angel flying back several feet until he slammed against the cavern wall where he remained, suspended. His axe fell, clattering to the ground seconds later.

Buffy's eyes widened in surprise.

_This was not supposed to happen._

Buffy and Angel both exchanged a worried look. Either something was wrong with Willow and Tara, or the spell was not working at all. In any case, something was terribly wrong. Maleficus shouldn't have any power at all.

Angel attempted to move, realizing his efforts were in vain. He was stuck to the wall, completely immobilized except for his head. "You bastard!"

"What did you do to him?" Buffy asked.

Maleficus stood up, wiping a speck of blood from his lip, and roared with laughter. "I do enjoy that little trick." He turned to Buffy, grinning. "I call it, 'Fly on the Wall'. So, to answer your question. Yes, I am ready to do this. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. But you're mistaken if you think I'll be the one dying tonight."

Buffy struggled to move, knowing already it was useless. This was _j__ust like before._

He grinned, the worry on her face worth the throbbing pain in his head. She may have taken him by surprise initially, but she had no idea who she was playing with. "What, all talk and no action? And you seemed so eager to fight moments before."

Maleficus reached for Buffy's sword and took it out of her hand, examining it up close. "This is a nice weapon. You won't be using it through." Maleficus placed both hands on the sword. Seconds later, the sword dissolved into tiny metal shards.

Buffy, having no other weapon at her disposal, spat in his eye.

Maleficus laughed again, wiping the saliva from his face. "Did you actually just_ spit_ on me? Well, that's a little…immature."

"You messed with the wrong slayer," Buffy warned.

"Actually, you look like all the others. Naïve. And eventually…powerless." He gazed at her and stepped closer. She flinched when he lightly brushed her cheek.

"Get away from her!" Angel yelled, feeling the panic rise in him. _This was not part of the plan!_

Maleficus moved behind Buffy, placing his hands around her neck. "It would be so easy for me to snap this pretty little neck of yours, wouldn't it?"


	68. In The Depths Of Hell

Tara led Willow inside the school, hoping it would be somewhat safer here and out of the way. Unfortunately considering what little remained of the school, they were still fairly exposed. But the demon bikers at least hadn't followed them inside.

Tara sat down on the floor and frantically began to dig things out of her bag.

"We have to finish the spell!" Willow said. "If we don't—"

"I know, but don't worry. I was prepared for this." Tara handed Willow a candle from her bag and proceeded to dump more herbs, stones, and amulets out. "Help me set it up again! We need to hurry!"

"Well look what we have here," a sudden voice said, and Willow and Tara looked up, seeing that one of the demon bikers had, unfortunately, followed them inside.

* * *

When Faith and Spike arrived to the other side of the school, they saw a scene of chaos.

"What are they?" Faith asked, having to shout to be heard over the motorcycles.

"They're Hellion demons!" Spike shouted back. "And they're just as bad as they sound!"

"I'll take that one!" Faith said, her eyes already set on one of the demons.

Spike headed in the opposite direction, dragging another one of the demons off his bike. Seeing an opportunity he couldn't pass up, Spike hopped on the bike and turned the tables, giving that very same demon chase.

Faith knocked her guy off his bike as well, punching him mercilessly. He fell to the ground, and Faith moved on to the next one. The demon was off his bike and ready to fight.

"Like you could take me," Faith muttered, delivering a swift kick to his head that effectively rendered the demon unconscious.

She'd been about to search for something else to beat up when she heard a familiar voice over by the school.

"You messed with the wrong witch!" Willow yelled. She spoke a few words of Latin, sending several bricks hurling in the demon's direction.

"Willow, no! You'll drain your magic!"

"Hey! I've got a better weapon!" Faith said, running over to the demon and grabbing him by the collar. "My fist!"

"Faith, we need to finish the spell!" Willow said.

"Don't worry," Faith said. "Do your spell or whatever. We'll keep them occupied."

* * *

His cold hands remained on her neck, but she would not show him her fear.

If she had any chance at all, if there was _any_ possibility of defeating Maleficus, she would have to outsmart him.

"I wanted to ask you something. Why didn't you just kill me that night in the cemetery when you had the chance? If you had really wanted me dead, you could have just stuck around until I died."

_Keep him talking._ That was the plan. Keep him talking until Willow and Tara's spell kicked in, _if it ever kicked in_, she hoped. If she could distract Maleficus long enough for him to let his guard down, she could stake him.

"You should have died. You were halfway to the pearly gates when I left. Hadn't anticipated the cavalry coming to your aid. But actually, I think it's more enjoyable this way after all. You'll die tonight, and it'll be a perfect beginning to what promises to be a glorious night."

Maleficus moved his hands away from her neck, and Buffy breathed a sigh of relief.

"I won't kill you by breaking your neck though. That's too…easy. And less fun."

Noticing the talisman around her neck, Maleficus reached for the pentagram and snapped the string, the cord stinging the back of Buffy's neck. "These things are useless by the way," he said, tossing the talisman to the ground. "It's weak magic. I've long since become immune to them."

"Leave her alone, you bastard!" Angel snarled.

Maleficus turned around to face Angel and smiled. "It really bothers you that you can't help her, doesn't it? That you're just stuck there, completely helpless. So I suppose it'll really bother you if I do this." Maleficus wrapped his hand around Buffy's neck, lifting her off her feet. Buffy choked helplessly in response.

"You sick son-of-a-bitch!" Angel yelled. "Let her go!"

"This is going to be fun," Maleficus said, loosening his grip on Buffy and dropping her. She landed on her feet and stumbled backwards, coughing several times.

"Buffy! Are you okay?"

Buffy glanced at Angel, seeing the worried expression in his eyes, but was unable to find the words to answer him.

"Well, Slayer, you wanted a fight! I promise not to disappoint."

For a vampire that relied on his magic most of the time, Buffy was disheartened to learn that he, unfortunately, still had a strong right hook. She stumbled backwards again, fighting to keep her balance as the blow he delivered made her jaw ache.

"Buffy!" Angel could only look on helplessly. "Leave her alone! Fight me instead!"

Maleficus ignored Angel's pleas and hit Buffy again, this time in the stomach. Buffy doubled over in pain, the force of the blow stronger than the last.

"If I could fight right now, I'd kick your ass," she said through gritted teeth.

The comment made him roar with laughter. "I highly doubt that." He punched her again, this time, sending her falling backwards.

"Had enough, Slayer?"

Buffy glanced up, seeing Maleficus looming over her. Buffy braced herself as the heel of his boot slammed down on her head.

"_Buffy!_"

It pained her to hear Angel's worried voice, but she couldn't answer him, her head throbbing in too much pain at the moment.

Maleficus suddenly picked her up off the ground, throwing her across the cavern in the same manner he'd thrown Angel. Buffy slammed into the rock wall, her motionless body crumpling to the ground seconds later.

Angel continued to struggle. "_Buffy_!"

Maleficus walked over to her and kicked her in the stomach for a reaction. But Buffy continued to lay there, motionless. "Damn. I hate when they lose consciousness," he muttered. "Takes all the fun out of watching them suffer."

"_You leave her alone_," Angel snarled.

Maleficus turned to face Angel, grinning, and walked over to him. "Now, what am I going to do to you, vampire with a soul? How did _that_ happen anyway?"

"If you so much as touch another hair on her head…"

"So you really love this slayer. That sickens me. But…it does make this situation at hand more interesting. It's always more fun to kill when emotions are involved. And with a helpless audience. How would you like to watch your lover die?"

"Take me! Leave her alone and let her go. Kill me instead!"

"Such a noble gesture, but unnecessary as I'm going to kill you both. I don't take too kindly to vampires that cross to the other side." Maleficus chuckled. "A modern day Romeo and Juliet, you and the slayer? I guess you'll die together too."

Angel glanced across the cavern, casting a worried glance at Buffy. That fact that she was unconscious was not a good sign at all.

"You know, I killed another slayer in front of her lover before," Maleficus mused, lost in his thoughts. "Her name was Emily, or Emma. Maybe Emmy…I can't remember. It's been so long. But she was a beauty too. Long, brown hair. Little curly ringlets at the end. Big, blue eyes. And her lover was a young boy not much older than herself. Scrawny fellow. Actually thought he could take me." Maleficus laughed at the memory. "A sorry excuse for a watcher."

Buffy opened her eyes, slowly regaining consciousness. She stole a glance at Maleficus, noting that he seemed to be distracted at the moment, and seeing that she could move when he was distracted, she smiled, quickly formulating a plan.

Ignoring the pain in her head, Buffy clutched the stake in her pocket and slowly rose to her feet. She crept toward Maleficus, her sights on his back, and placed a finger on her mouth, indicating to Angel not to let on how relieved he was to see her moving again.

Was it really going to be this simple? Did all she have to do was make sure he was distracted just so she could take him down?

"It's always more fun when the slayer has a protective lover," Maleficus continued. "To actually _see_ a man's heart break into a million pieces, the pure agony on his face when the woman he loves so dearly dies in front of his very eyes...And don't think I don't know you're there, Slayer."

Maleficus whipped around, holding his hand out to halt Buffy's movement. "I could you hear you sneaking up behind me. You're the only one around here with a beating heart."

His hand whipped across her face before Buffy had time to react. If she _had_ time to react, Buffy thought. She was under his power now, and defending herself wasn't an option. Another blow to the face had her reeling, and Buffy fell to the ground, wincing in pain at the contact of the hard surface against her back.

"Buffy!"

Buffy glanced at Angel, seeing the fear in his eyes. She recognized that look. It'd been the same look on her face seen reflected in the mirror anytime Angel had been in danger.

Maleficus grabbed a nearby torch and ambled over to her. He grinned as he gazed down at her wounded form. "We could fight for hours, but frankly, I'm bored with it now. I prefer to watch my victims tortured."

"You bastard!" Angel yelled.

Maleficus ignored him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked, staring into the flames. "It gives us warmth. It gives us light. And yet, it has the power to destroy, reducing everything in its wake to nothing but ashes. Such incredible destruction one small flame can make."

Buffy's heartbeat accelerated, her eyes focused on the ring of blue at the base of the flame.

"I was killed by fire," Maleficus continued, pacing back and forth as Buffy and Angel watched, both unable to move. "It was a slayer like yourself. She thought fire would destroy me forever." Maleficus chuckled. "She never thought I'd be able to come back."

Maleficus kneeled down, holding the flame close enough for Buffy to feel the heat on her face. "Do you ever wonder what it feels like to be on fire, Slayer?"

"Get away from her!" Angel begged, struggling again to move.

Maleficus turned to Angel, a sadistic grin on his face. "Say goodbye to your sweetheart."

Buffy braced herself as he lowered the torch and looked away from Angel, unwilling to see the agony on Angel's face as he helplessly looked on.

_This was it. This was the end._

A sudden movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention, and suddenly, Angel pushed Maleficus to the ground, knocking the torch from his hand.

_Angel was moving!_

Buffy immediately rose to her feet, finally free to move herself. The spell was working_! Thank you, Willow and Tara_, she thought. _And not a second to spare…_

Angel and Maleficus rolled on the ground, a fight beginning to ensue. Angel had the upper hand, having took Maleficus by surprise.

Angel vamped out in anger, pinning Maleficus to the ground as his large hands wrapped around the ancient vampire's neck. "How about we play this game instead? I squeeze this scrawny little neck of yours until that beady little head of yours pops off."

Maleficus choked, breathing not the issue, but unable to speak. He flung his arm, slamming his fist against the side of Angel's face, and Angel fell sideways.

"I'm stronger than I look," Maleficus said, rising to his feet.

"Not strong enough!" Buffy countered, delivering a swift kick, knocking him off balance.

He fell against Angel, who promptly sent his fist into flying into his opponent's face again.

Maleficus regained his composure and the fighting resumed. He was, surprisingly, a decent fighter, warding off both Buffy and Angel's advances and even getting in a few hits of his own.

But Angel and Buffy knew the odds were in their favor. It was two against one.

Angel swung his fist against Maleficus, knocking him to the ground and effectively stopping his advance toward Buffy.

"Looks like you're outnumbered, Maleficus," Buffy taunted, aiming her stake in his general direction, poised to deliver the final blow.

Maleficus, oddly, smiled at her. "No, Slayer. You are."

They'd both been so immersed in the fight that the arrival of several warrior vampires went unnoticed. And none of them looked too happy.

All hell suddenly broke lose.

The warrior vampires sprang into action, attacking both Angel and Buffy. Angel shook off his attackers, taking down one, then fighting off another.

Buffy sent another sprawling across the cavern floor. He was back on his feet seconds later, and Buffy promptly staked him.

"Got you now, Slayer!" said another vampire, sneaking up from behind and grabbing Buffy by the arms.

"Get off her!" Angel hissed, pulling the vampire away from Buffy and burying the stake in his chest.

Maleficus stood by, watching helplessly. "Well don't just stand there!" he ordered to his remaining minions. "Do something!"

Four more vampires charged Buffy and Angel, and the fighting ensued for another minute. Angel remembered his axe on the ground and grabbed it, promptly beheading one of them. Once he'd taken out that one, he'd already had his sights set on another one.

Buffy currently fought off another vampire, who was especially strong. When she looked into his eyes, she had a flash of recognition. _He'd been there that night._

He was the one that got away.

Buffy felt a sense of renewed purpose, hitting him until he lost his balance. As he lay on the ground, Buffy kicked him in the head. "How's that for a head injury!" she yelled, then put him out of his misery.

It was amazing how adrenaline worked, Buffy thought as she fought the last remaining minion. These vampires were twice her strength, tougher than The Three, and yet, she was taking them down effortlessly.

Maybe it wasn't just adrenaline. Maybe she was just a slayer who had learned a few new tricks.

And finally, she and Angel had dusted them all.

A loud scream, more like a roar, pierced the cavern walls.

It was Maleficus.

The cavern shook as his shrill echo bounced off the walls, and rocks began to fall.

"Buffy, look out!"

Angel pushed Buffy out of the way as a large boulder came barreling down. Angel took the brunt of it as it crashed to the ground, effectively pinning his legs.

"Angel!"

"I'm okay!"

"You want a fight, Slayer?" Maleficus asked, almost taunting. "I'll give you a fight."

Buffy prayed Willow and Tara's spell would hold up for just a little longer as she raised her fists in a fighting stance. It was all her now. If Buffy couldn't do this, then that was it. The Hellmouth would close, and she and Angel would be trapped down here forever.

Not exactly the forever she had in mind for them.

Maleficus charged toward her, and Buffy spun around, delivering a roundhouse kick. Maleficus shook it off and aimed to hit her again.

"I'm surprised you know how to fight!" Buffy taunted as she dodged his fist. "Seeing as how you usually let the minions do the dirty work for you!" Buffy punched him again, knocking Maleficus off balance.

"I'll kill you, Slayer! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Maleficus stood up and charged toward her again. Anticipating Buffy's move, he grabbed her leg and spun her around, sending her crashing down to the floor.

Buffy landed with a thud, but was quickly back on her feet. She had had _enough. _Maleficus was dying, one way or the other. She ran toward Maleficus, aiming her fist into his face, and the fight continued.

Maleficus temporarily gained the upper hand as he cornered her against the wall, but Buffy ducked and made her escape. Quick reflexes were a blessing.

Angel, meanwhile, had gathered enough strength to finally push the boulder off his body enough so that he could roll out from underneath it.

"You've got a little blood right there," Buffy said, pointing to her lip, and Maleficus raised his hands as if he wanted to perform a spell, then screamed again.

"Oh! You can't use your magic! That's too bad!"

From behind him, Angel surprised Maleficus, kicking him square in the back, sending him sprawling forward. Maleficus, however, was quick to regain his balance, whipping around to deliver a blow to Angel's jaw.

"Well that just makes me angry," Angel warned.

"Hey, Maleficus?" Buffy taunted. "You're not immune to this, are you?" Buffy held her stake high, charging toward him.

"No, not immune," he said as he grabbed her stake in midair. "But smart enough to avoid them." He held Buffy's arm and began twisting it in an unnatural angle, making her wince in pain.

Buffy delivered the "kick in groin" treatment, and Maleficus quickly released her.

"That works every time."

"Well this is too easy," Angel said, grabbing hold of Maleficus as he was temporarily impaired. "Kill him, Buffy."

Buffy smiled at Maleficus, seeing the realization hit him. _It was over._ "Show's over, Maleficus."

Buffy drove the stake through his heart, watching his eyes widen in shock as his flesh turned to bone rather than dust, leaving a decrepit skeleton behind. Angel dropped the skeletal remains, and the skull lolled to the side and rolled away as it hit the ground.

Maleficus was dead.

* * *

Willow and Tara opened their eyes simultaneously and ceased their chanting, a warm energy flowing through both of them.

"Tara, do you feel that?"

"Yeah, I do."

Willow grinned in satisfaction. "Our spell worked, and Buffy did it. She killed Maleficus."

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake, and Willow and Tara stared wide-eyed at each other.

* * *

"Oh my god. I did it."

Angel's face returned to normal, and he smiled at Buffy proudly. "I knew you would."

Buffy looked down on the ground, staring at the skeleton. "He must have been really powerful. He didn't completely turn to dust."

Beneath them, the ground began to shake once again, and Angel looked upwards as bits of rocks pelted his head. "We need to get out of here before the Hellmouth closes! Come on!"

Grabbing Buffy's hand, Angel led the way out through the tunnel in which they came through. Ahead of them, the rumbling was louder, and a dust cloud followed in its wake.

"What's happening?" Buffy asked.

"Earthquake I think," Angel answered, pulling her towards the exit.

Except there was no exit.

"It's caved in!" Buffy said.

"Then we'll just have to climb out."

"_Climb out_?"

"Yeah," he said, turning to go toward another tunnel. "Come on, we don't have much time!"

* * *

No one wanted to say it.

Buffy and Angel should have been back by now.

Giles looked at his watch and frowned.

"It's time, isn't it?" Wesley asked.

"But Angel and Buffy aren't back yet. We can wait a few more minutes, right?" Cordelia asked, looking hopefully at both ex-watchers.

Giles opened the scroll and frowned. "I'm afraid if we wait any longer, the Hellmouth won't close at all."

Cordelia glanced at the ruins of the school. "I hope they're out already."

"I hope so too," Giles said, then began to perform the spell.

* * *

Down the stairs, the opening of the Hellmouth loomed. The seal was gone, and in its place, a large gaping hole lay. Inside, the sounds of a thousand demons could be heard, threatening to spill out any moment.

"That's a long way down," Buffy said quietly, gazing down at the darkness below as they crept around the edge of the Hellmouth.

Above the Hellmouth's opening, the cavern walls had separated and Angel studied the rock wall, looking for a good spot that would be easy to climb.

"I can see the library from here," Buffy said in amazement. Directly above them, they could even see the moon.

"Here," Angel said as he came to a stop. "We can climb out here. The rock's jagged enough and not too steep." Angel turned to Buffy, giving her a smile. "Ever been rock climbing before?"

"Not really," Buffy said, shaking her head.

"Me neither. You go first. I'll be right behind you."

Buffy reached for a jagged piece of rock and placed her feet on the wall, pulling herself up as she began to climb. She was about midway up, thinking this was easier than she'd thought it would be, when her footing slipped, and Buffy desperately held on to wall, feeling the loose gravel fall behind her. "Angel?"

"I'm right behind you. Just hold on and keep going. You're almost there."

"Be careful of that spot," she warned, and continued up the wall.

They heard the sounds of rumbling again, but this time, it sounded different.

Looking behind her, Buffy realized the wall to the cavern was closing in. If they didn't get out of here fast, they'd be crushed.

"Angel! It's closing!"

"Just hurry! I'm right behind you!"

Buffy quickened her pace and finally reached the top, pulling herself out. As she did, the ground began to shake with another aftershock, sending debris falling overhead. Buffy had no choice but to move as a pylon came crashing down. She covered her head, feeling small pieces of rock and concrete pelt her back.

A sudden crash had Buffy looking up. She could only stare as the remains of Sunnydale High had collapsed. And to her horror, she realized Angel was no longer in sight.

"ANGEL!"


	69. Aftermath

Giles, Wesley, and Cordelia hunkered down as a loud crash from within the school was heard, sending a cloud of dust billowing outwards.

Wesley looked up, coughing as he inhaled the dust. "The roof has collapsed!"

"The roof was already collapsed," Cordelia said, waving the dust away from her face.

"Well more so. The earthquake must have made the ruins more unstable."

Giles grabbed his flashlight from the ground and began walking toward the rubble. Wesley stared at Giles in confusion. "Mr. Giles! What are you doing?"

"I thought I heard Buffy."

Wesley and Cordelia both exchanged glances while Giles made his way inside. Stepping over several pieces of debris, Giles fought to keep his balance as he held up the flashlight, making his way further into the recesses of the school. "Buffy?" he called out.

There was no response, but Giles continued on. Amidst the ruins of Sunnydale High, Giles walked the way he had so many times before, albeit when the school was actually functional that is. The tattered library sign still hung above where there used to be a door, although he'd know his way to the library even with his eyes closed. Of course, not that he'd try that with all the debris everywhere…

Somewhere in the distance, he thought he heard a sound. It was so faint that Giles doubted he would have heard it had he not been listening for it. He turned his flashlight through the entryway, seeing the extent of the collapse, and Buffy in the middle of it all.

"Buffy?" Giles rushed over to her, kneeling down. "Buffy! Are you alright?"

Buffy continued to move away the debris, not answering him.

"Buffy, where's Angel?"

"We had to climb out," Buffy said, choking on her words as she continued to dig. "We had to climb out. The tunnel was caved in. He was right behind me!"

Giles shook his head, not understanding. "Is Angel…buried?"

"He was right behind me," she repeated.

Another rumble had Giles looking up, and he watched as some debris several feet away began to shift.

"Buffy, I'm afraid it's not safe to stay inside here."

Buffy turned to Giles, eyes wide. "I'm not leaving until I find Angel!"

Beneath them, the ground began to shake once more, and Giles tried to hold himself steady as the shaking intensified.

"It's an aftershock!" he said, shouting over the noise. "Buffy, get away from there!"

Giles grabbed her just in time as more dust and concrete fell onto the debris pile. Buffy wondered how she was going to get Angel out now when she suddenly felt herself being lifted.

"No! Put me down!"

She protested the whole way as Giles carried her out of the ruins, but Giles didn't care. She could hate him for this, but at least she was safe.

Once outside, he set her on the ground. Buffy, however, made her intentions clear and started back towards the rubble.

Giles grabbed her from behind, holding her back. "Buffy, no!"

"Let me go!" she yelled, wiggling out of his arms.

"Buffy, the earthquake has made structure even more unstable and extremely dangerous!"

Buffy ignored his warnings and went back inside. "Angel!"

Cordelia stared after her, then looked to Giles for answers. "Giles! What happened? Where's Angel?"

"They were inside when the roof collapsed. The tunnel caved in and they had to climb out."

"They climbed out…of the Hellmouth?" Wesley asked hesitantly.

Cordelia suddenly snatched the flashlight out of Giles' hand and ran toward the ruins.

"Cordelia! What are you doing? It's dangerous in there!" Wesley called after her.

"I don't care! I'm going to help Buffy find him!" she answered before heading inside.

"What's going on?" Willow asked, she and Tara rushing over at the sound of the frantic screams.

"We thought we heard Buffy," Tara said.

"Angel is trapped," Giles replied. "Buffy said he was behind her one minute, and the next…"

Willow's eyes widened. "He's not trapped _in the Hellmouth_, is he?"

"Maybe he's just buried," Tara said. "Under the rubble, I mean."

"Yes. He's just buried," Wesley said, hoping Tara was right. For he didn't want to believe that Angel was trapped in the Hellmouth forever.

* * *

Buffy grabbed a fallen cinder block and threw it down. "Angel!"

She paused for a moment to listen, but there was nothing but silence. But that didn't mean he wasn't there. Angel was buried somewhere underneath this rubble, and she was going to find him.

Buffy picked up more debris, throwing it to the side, determined not to give up.

She'd been clearing the debris for a few minutes when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She thought it was Giles again, but when she turned around, she realized it was only Cordelia.

"What happened?"

"Angel's trapped. Help me dig!"

Cordelia nodded, immediately starting to clear out what she could. "He's under here?"

Buffy sniffled. "I don't know! There's just too much debris! I don't remember exactly where he was now."

"Maybe I could help."

Buffy turned around, seeing Spike standing behind her alongside Faith.

"Superior sense of smell," Spike explained. "And sight."

"And strength," Faith added. "Do you need some more help, B?"

Buffy smiled gratefully. "That would be great. Thank you."

* * *

Xander, Anya, and Riley arrived back at the school a few minutes later. But instead of finding everyone celebrating, the mood amongst the group seemed rather…somber.

"Is everyone alright?" Xander asked.

"Where's Buffy?" Riley asked. He didn't see her anywhere.

"Angel's missing," Tara said. "Buffy's looking for him."

"Missing? What do you mean?" Riley asked.

"They had to climb out of the Hellmouth," Willow explained. "Apparently the tunnel caved in. They were leaving when the earthquake hit. The school collapsed. Or what's left of it anyway. Angel's trapped."

Gunn's pickup truck pulled up to the curb, and Gunn stepped out.

"You sure you don't want to grab a burger, G?" Rondell asked, leaning against the open window at the driver's seat.

"No, man, you all go on. Catch up with you guys later."

Rondell nodded, then drove away.

"Man, that was something else!" Gunn said, strolling toward the group. Upon seeing the look on everyone's face, Gunn's stopped smiling. "Okay, who died?"

"Well he wasn't exactly alive in the first place," Xander said.

"Angel's missing," Willow said, answering Gunn's question. "He and Buffy were in the school when that earthquake hit. We think he's buried under the rubble."

"Is Buffy okay?" Gunn asked.

"Physically, but she's upset," Tara said.

"Then what are we all doing standing here?" Riley asked of the group. "Come on. Let's go help Buffy find Angel."

The group watched as Riley walked toward the school, determined, and one by one, they followed suit.

* * *

They had been expecting to celebrate a victory. No one had expected the evening's turn of events.

Willow looked around at the ruins of her old high school. "We need some more light. The moonlight and flashlights just aren't enough. I'll be right back."

"Willow, where are you going?" Tara asked.

"Just to get something."

Xander walked over to Buffy, hesitantly placing his hand over her shoulder. "Buff?"

"Help me clear this out," she said, barely looking at him as she concentrated on the task at hand.

Xander nodded, then started to help.

"I do hope there are no more aftershocks," Giles said, examining the rubble surrounding them. Giles hadn't wanted to venture into the ruins, as the structure was indeed, very unstable, but Buffy's fierce determination to find Angel won him over. He hoped that with everyone working together, finding Angel would be a much quicker task, and maybe they could all get out of here.

"Let's just hope this holds," Wesley added. "Why don't we clear out this area?"

Willow returned moments later with a small bag in her hand. She dug out the bottle and threw it to the ground. _"Fiat lux!"_

Everyone stopped, pausing to look briefly at Willow, then at the light surrounding them.

"I thought there should be a little light on the subject," she explained.

* * *

_Los Angeles_

Lilah sat on Lindsey's desk as she watched him pace back and forth.

"I'm not going to say I told you so, but, well actually, I think I will. I told you so."

Lindsey glared at Lilah, and before he could say anything, the door to his office opened.

"What the hell happened?" Holland demanded. "Our contacts are telling me the plan was somehow ruined!"

"Sir, I can explain," Lindsey started. "It was Angel."

"Angel." Holland laughed. "Always that damned vampire with a soul. I thought you were taking care of that problem, Lindsey!"

"I tried to warn him," Lilah said. "But Lindsey apparently didn't think Angel was a threat."

Holland laughed harder. "Angel not a threat? He's been nothing but a menace to us since he showed up here in L.A. and you _didn't think_ he was a threat?"

Lindsey looked down, not wanting to look Holland in the eye. He knew he failed. "I wasn't aware he knew the extent of the plan."

"Meeting tomorrow morning at nine am. _Sharp._ We need to have a serious discussion on what went wrong. The Senior Partners are _not pleased_." Holland slammed the door on his way out.

Lilah smirked. "I think I'll move this desk by the wall. I don't like my back to the window."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Lilah stood up and made her way over to the door. "The day this office is mine. You screwed up, Lindsey."

"Maybe I didn't screw up. Maybe what happened was supposed to happen. Why was it so important for Maleficus to have control in Sunnydale anyway?"

"The very fact that you have to ask that question proves you're not one of us. It doesn't matter, Lindsey. You do what the Senior Partners tell you to do. No questions asked. Who knows what their motives are? But you do it." Lilah opened the door and turned around once more. "You should bring a box tomorrow. You might have some packing to do."

Lilah closed the door, and Lindsey, infuriated, grabbed the glass paperweight on his desk and threw it across the room.

* * *

Willow glanced up from her spot on the ground as Xander and Anya joined her and Tara.

"Any sign?" Willow asked hopefully.

Xander shook his head. "No. But Buffy refuses to stop looking for him."

"Can't say I blame her. If I were in her shoes…" Willow chose not to finish that thought.

"How long has it been?" Tara asked.

Xander glanced at his watch. "Almost an hour."

"Did we win?" Anya suddenly asked.

"What, An?"

"Did we win? I mean, I know everyone is worried about Angel, but no one's said anything about Maleficus. I was just wondering if we won or not."

"Well the world doesn't seem to be ending," Xander said. "So…I guess that would be a yes."

"Maleficus is dead," Willow answered. "But I don't think Buffy's quite ready to celebrate." Willow stood up, dusting the dirt off her dress. "Come on, let's go back in and help."

* * *

Gunn wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand as he walked out of the school. Deciding to take a quick breather on the steps, he went to sit down, only to realize Cordelia was sitting there too.

He'd been about to say something to her when he realized she was crying.

Cordelia looked up at the sound of his footsteps, and Gunn saw the brief hope in her eyes before it faded again.

"Are you okay?"

Cordelia only response was a sniffle.

"Sorry. I guess that was sort of a stupid question." Gunn sat down on the steps beside her. "Don't worry. They'll find him. There's just a lot of rubble in there to dig through, but they'll find him."

"Angel's my best friend. When I moved to L.A., I tried to pretend like I was living this glamorous life and that everything was perfect. But the truth was that I was miserable, and I'd never felt so alone in my life. And then I ran into Angel. It was so nice to see a familiar face. He didn't have to be so nice to me. He could have just told me to buzz off and go away, but he didn't. And I saw a side to Angel that I'd never seen before, and in turn, he revealed a side of myself that I'd never seen before either. I can't lose him. I can't lose my best friend now."

"You won't. They'll find him."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Cause that guy doesn't die," Gunn said with a chuckle, but Cordelia didn't smile.

"We've been looking for him for over an hour now. Don't you think if he was there, we would have found him by now?"

Gunn didn't reply, and Cordelia stood up and wiped her eyes with a tissue she'd found in her pocket. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I don't think anything's going to help, not unless we find Angel. I'm going back in."

With that, Cordelia marched back into the ruins of the high school, leaving Gunn on the steps. He stayed there for another moment or two, then stood up and went back inside himself.

* * *

Buffy wiped the sweat off her lip and moved another cinder block out of the way. She wasn't giving up. If she had to stay here until morning, she would, even if it took clearing out this whole damn school. She wasn't leaving until she found Angel.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned around, hopeful for one bright moment. But it was only Wesley.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, seeing the look of disappointment in her eyes.

Buffy returned to her debris clearing.

"Buffy, perhaps we should…rest for a while. Try searching again in the morning?"

She threw the cinder block behind her and turned to Wesley. "_What?_ How you can say that? How can you just give up like that? I thought Angel was your friend!"

Wesley's eyes shifted to the ground, not answering.

"Oh my god. You don't think he made it, do you?"

"Buffy, I want to believe—"

"Angel made it out of the Hellmouth! He was _right _behind me! I turned away for five seconds! It was just five seconds."

Buffy sank to the ground and begin to sob, her composure beginning to crack.

"He was right behind me," she mumbled, crying heavily now.

Wesley leaned forward, helping her to her feet. "Come on. You've been through a lot tonight."

He started to lead her away, but Buffy gained her composure and turned away. "No! I'm not leaving until I find him! Angel!"

Wesley stood there for a moment and watched as she resumed her digging. Without another word, Wesley began to help her. He reached for a cinder block, and realizing its weight, decided to pick up a smaller brick instead.

Buffy suddenly paused, staring at Wesley. "Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"Shh. Listen."

The voice was faint, but Wesley could hear it. It sounded like Angel.

"Angel!" Buffy yelled, clearing the debris faster.

"Everyone! Over here!" Wesley shouted.

"Did you find him?" Cordelia asked, rushing over to them with Gunn on her heels.

"Angel! Can you hear me?"

"_Buffy."_

The group hurriedly worked together to clear the debris pile where Angel was buried.

"Angel, don't worry! We'll get you out!" Buffy called out, trying not to be too concerned that Angel hadn't spoken again.

Finally, enough of the debris was cleared so that Buffy could see clear across the other side. Buffy grabbed her flashlight, aiming through the hole. "Angel?"

Suddenly Angel was on the other side, face to face with her. "Buffy. Thank god you're alright."

Buffy knew she must be a sight, with her dirty and tear-streaked face, but she was beyond relieved. She laughed through her tears. "_Me?_ I'm glad _you're _alright. Are you okay?"

"I'm extremely lucky."

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm a little sore."

"Hang on. We'll get you out!"

Buffy worked frantically now to clear the way.

Finally, Angel was able to climb out of the rubble, and Buffy immediately sank into his arms. She sobbed into his shirt, not caring how dusty and dirty it was. "Thank god! I was so worried about you!"

"I'm okay." Angel stumbled, and Buffy caught him.

"Are you sure about that?"

He nodded, then began coughing loudly.

"Angel? Are you sure you're okay?"

"It's hard to breathe in here. The dust and all."

Buffy wrapped her hands around his face, laughing softly. "Honey, you don't breathe."

Angel stared at her for a moment, and suddenly, the realization hit him. "Actually, I think I do, Buffy."


	70. Alive

A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm really glad you all liked the last few chapters because I was very nervous about posting it! It was, quite possibly, the most difficult part of this story to write.

So I feel I should let you all know…there's only one more chapter after this. This story is long, but it can't go on forever, lol. I will be posting the final chapter either tomorrow or Friday, but definitely before Saturday, as it's very possible I might get hit by a hurricane this weekend and if I'm going to die, I'm going to make damn sure this story is finished first! LOL

Check for the final chapter sometime soon!

Until then…enjoy the chapter! :)

* * *

Buffy stared at him, realizing what he was saying. "Oh my god. Angel, you're—"

"I'm alive."

Angel stumbled as he said this, and Buffy quickly reached to hold him upright. "Here, lean on me."

"I thought it was just a dream," Angel said, laughter in his eyes. "What just happened…"

"Angel!"

Angel looked towards the sound of Cordelia's voice, seeing her running to him, Wesley behind her.

Cordelia threw her arms around Angel, hugging him tightly. "Angel, we were so worried! Are you okay?"

"He's better than okay, Cordelia," Buffy said.

Cordelia looked at Buffy, seeing the smile on her face, realizing what she was implying. "Oh my god." Cordelia stared at Angel again, looking for any change in his appearance, but he looked the same, albeit a bit dirty. "Angel? Are you…?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

"The Shanshu prophecy?" Wesley asked, hoping he wasn't misunderstanding this conversation. "Was I right? Are you human?"

"You were right, Wesley."

"Angel!"

Angel looked behind Cordelia, seeing Willow and Tara walking over to them.

"Angel, are you okay?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore is all. But it's actually a good feeling to have though."

Willow shook her head in confusion.

"He's human, Will," Buffy explained, and watched as Willow's eyes grew wide.

Gunn sidled up to Riley, watching the scene unfold. "Dude, are you believing any of this?"

Riley shook his head. "I've seen a lot of weird and strange things happen, but I've never seen a vampire turn into a human before."

"Okay, good, so it's not just me seeing this happen."

"I'm glad you're okay, Angel," Tara said. "We were all very worried."

Giles walked over to the group, looking from Angel to Buffy. "Angel, I'm glad you're alright, but may I suggest moving this little reunion outside?" Giles looked at the jagged ruins of the roof. "If there's another aftershock, we really shouldn't be inside here."

"Giles is right," Angel said, agreeing. "It's dangerous in here." Angel turned to Buffy. "Let me lean on you?"

"Of course."

"Here, let me help too." Wesley walked to Angel's other side, and together, he and Buffy helped Angel out of the building.

If there was anyone who hadn't yet heard word of Angel's sudden humanity, Cordelia was happy to spread the news. "He's human! He's _human_!" she kept saying. "Can you believe it! I _told_ him it was going to happen! He didn't believe me but I told him!"

"So Dead Boy is now Real Boy?" Xander asked.

"Hey, just like Pinocchio!" Anya said cheerfully. "He's a _real_ boy!"

"Please don't let that nickname catch on," Angel whispered to Buffy.

"Here, sit down," Buffy said, indicating a spot on the grass. "Your forehead's bleeding."

"It's dried blood."

"Does anyone have a first aid kit?"

"Buffy, I'm fine," Angel insisted.

"Well let me just clean this up a bit," Buffy said, taking the first aid kit that Giles, always prepared, handed to her. She opened the kit and went about finding some gauze and antiseptic.

"So wait, can someone explain this to me?" Faith asked. "How is Angel human? I don't understand."

"There was a prophecy," Willow explained. "It said a vampire with a soul was going to help avert an apocalypse and become human. We knew it was about Angel. We just didn't know when it was going to happen."

"Well bollocks then," Spike muttered.

Faith raised an eyebrow at Spike. "What, you wished it had been you instead?"

"No, I'm just upset I can't fight him anymore."

Angel looked up from the ground, smiling at Spike. "Oh yeah, that's right. You can't hurt me now because of your chip."

"This must be torture for you, Spike," Buffy said, grinning as she affixed some gauze to Angel's wound.

Spike shrugged. "I'll get over it."

"I'm glad you're alright, Angel," Faith said.

"Thank you."

A fire truck driving past stopped at the curb, and a fireman leaned his head out the window. "Hey, you folks alright?"

"We're just fine," Giles answered.

"You need to move away from this area. It's dangerous around here."

"Yes, of course," Giles said.

The fireman drove away, probably to see if anyone else needed help after the earthquake.

"Dangerous, huh?" Xander said.

"He doesn't know the half of it," Gunn said with a laugh.

* * *

Faith watched as Spike ran a hand along the side of the motorcycle he had snagged from one of the demons. "Wow, some night, huh?" she said.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"You going to keep that thing?"

He shrugged. "Was thinking about it." Spike got on the bike and gripped the handlebars. "Has a good feel." He gave her a smile and turned on the ignition. "You want to go for a ride?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Faith climbed onto the bike's passenger seat. "Hey, Spike? I don't know about you, but sometimes after a good slay, I feel so incredibly—"

"Hungry. I know. We'll find you one of those all-night fast food joints."

Faith leaned forward, her lips inches from his ear. "Actually, I was going to say _horny_ this time. But we can eat too. That's cool."

Spike turned around, grinning at her. "We can do anything you want, luv."

"Can you make this thing go really fast?"

Spike revved up the engine on the bike. "Hold on and find out."

Faith wrapped her hands around Spike, and seconds later, the bike took off with a cloud of dust trailing behind.

* * *

Buffy rested her head on her pillow and stared at the closed bathroom door, waiting for Angel to finish his shower.

Human. Angel was actually _human._

Of all the things she expected would happen tonight, that hadn't been one of them. Of course, she believed someday the Shanshu Prophecy would come true, but for it to happen now had been a surprise. Angel had been so convinced it wouldn't happen this soon.

Buffy couldn't help but smile, feeling the same way she had months ago when Angel had been human before. It was almost surreal, as if it couldn't actually be happening.

But it was.

The door finally opened, and Angel stepped out in a cloud of steam.

Buffy moved to a sitting position. "Feel better?"

"Still a little sore."

Buffy patted the space beside her on the bed. "Come here. I'll make you feel better."

"You already make me feel better," Angel said as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"Well I'll make you feel even better than you already are," Buffy promised, reaching for the first aid kit she'd taken from downstairs. She opened the lid and rifled through the kit, looking for the gauze. "We should put some more gauze on that cut."

The cut on his forehead had closed, but still looked painful. Buffy unwrapped the gauze from the wrapper and carefully placed it over the wound, bandaging his forehead. "I can't believe you're human."

Angel glanced at Buffy, seeing the smile on her face. "It's so strange to see myself in the bathroom mirror."

Buffy laughed softly, placing the first aid kit back on the nightstand. "Am I going to have to start prying you away from mirrors from now on?"

"I'd much rather look at you. How's your head?"

"Still hurts a little. But whatever Cordelia gave me seems to be helping."

Angel reached for her, a concerned look on her face. "Maybe you need to see a doctor."

"Angel, I'm okay."

"Buffy, you were unconscious."

"For only a minute."

"Buffy…"

"Angel, I'm fine. Really. Look, if I still feel bad in the morning, I promise to get checked out. Okay?"

Angel frowned, hesitant to let the issue go. "You're sure you're okay?"

Buffy nodded, placing her hand over his heart. "I've never been better. But I almost lost you tonight. I was so scared, Angel."

"I know."

"I thought I would never see you again. Just the thought of losing you. I don't know how I could go on with my life without you in it."

"I'm here."

"And this is permanent, right? I mean, you're not going to ask the Powers to change you back again in the morning, are you?"

Angel gave her a smile. "No, not this time. And I'm not going anywhere. Not if I can help it."

Buffy smiled back at him. "Good. I mean, I'd love you no matter what you are, but I have to admit, I'm really excited the prophecy came true."

Buffy yawned, suddenly realizing how exhausted she felt. She reached over to turn the lamp off and curled up next to Angel. "I'm so sleepy."

Angel kissed her on the forehead, holding her close. "Sleep."

"I don't want to sleep. I feel like if I close my eyes, it'll be over, and I'll wake up to find I was only dreaming."

"You're not dreaming. So sleep."

"Kiss?"

Angel complied, gently pressing his lips to hers.

Satisfied, Buffy laid her head back on his chest, closed her eyes, and fell asleep to the sound of his beating heart.

* * *

Morning came, and Buffy watched him as he slept.

His worry lines were gone, as usual when he slept. His face was so relaxed, peaceful even.

She smiled as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. _He was breathing._Buffy placed a hand over his chest, feeling his body take in oxygen, then release. His skin felt so warm, which was such an odd, yet thrilling sensation.

She then moved her hand over to his heart, feeling a steady beat beneath her palm. _His heart was beating._

Angel was human.

"It feels pretty amazing," Angel said, and Buffy looked at him, wondering how long he had been awake.

Buffy sat up, giving him a smile. "It's better than amazing," she said as she leaned forward and kissed him good morning. "Are you hungry?"

Angel hadn't thought of it, but now that Buffy mentioned it, he realized how empty his stomach was. "I'm starving. It's so good to feel that way again. To be hungry for real food."

"Stay here. I'll go downstairs and bring something up for us."

Buffy kissed him once more, then rose from the bed and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Angel stretched for a moment, taking in a deep breath. It felt strange to need air, but it felt good. He felt less sore too, which was a good thing. He hadn't been sure if he'd heal fast or not.

Rising from the bed, Angel pushed the covers away and walked over to the window. The heavy draperies were still there, and Angel grabbed the edge and pushed it away. Sunlight flooded the room, and Angel stood in its warmth.

* * *

_Angel saw the beam seconds before it hit him, pinning him down. The ground was shaking, and dust and debris were falling everywhere._

_Another beam fell, and Angel felt the blow to this head._

_"Buffy," he yelled, except it came out as a whisper instead, and darkness fell upon him._

_Angel had been vaguely aware of himself losing consciousness. And now he was...where was he anyway? Was this a dream? Or was this really happening? He had been buried in the school's rubble seconds before, and now he was somewhere completely different._

_This looked familiar._

_Angel rose to his feet, groaning at the pain he felt in his muscles, and looked around at the strangely lit room. _

"_Hello, Warrior. We've been expecting you," said a female's voice. _

_Angel whipped around, turning to see two oracles before him. He knew they were oracles from the way they were dressed. Angel walked closer to them and had to look up, for they were both seated on a higher level._

"_Where am I?"_

_"The question is not where you are," the female oracle replied. "The question you should be asking is 'why?'"._

_"Okay. Why am I here?"_

_"You averted an apocalypse," the male oracle said._

"_It wasn't me alone. I only helped."_

_The female oracle stood from her seat and walked down the steps. "Nevertheless, your efforts helped thwart a great threat to humanity, and thus, you shall be rewarded for your efforts."_

"_It is not often we give this kind of reward," the male said, following the female oracle down the steps. "But you've proven to be a worthy fighter for our cause."_

"_Shanshu," Angel said softly._

_The female smiled. "Yes. So you know of the prophecy?"_

"_That a vampire with a soul will be granted humanity for averting an apocalypse? Yeah, I've read about it. But I'm sorry...I can't accept your offer."_

_The female frowned. "You do not wish to be mortal?"_

"_No. Yes. I mean I do want to be human. But I can't."_

_"Because you wish to fight," the male oracle said. "Without your power and strength, it is difficult for you to protect those you love."_

_"Yes."_

_"We know this already," the female said. "The Powers intended for you to be mortal a while ago, and were surprised when you asked to return to your familiar form. We are offering you a second chance."_

_"Then you know what my answer will be."_

_"We will not make this offer again," the male warned._

_"I understand."_

_The female stared at him in confusion, shaking her head. "And yet, you still refuse. Even if we agree to your conditions?"_

_"My conditions?"_

_"You wish to retain your strength to aid in your ability to fight. The powers are willing to do this, provided your continued service for our cause. But if you do not wish the offer, you may return—"_

_"No! If you're offering me a chance to be mortal, I'll take it. Granted I have your word I'll be able to fight."_

_The female smiled again. "Yes, you have our word."_

_The male oracle nodded. "Then it shall be done. You may return now."_

"_Good luck, Warrior," the female said as she began to follow the male oracle down the long hallway._

"_Wait. I just have one more question."_

_The female paused and turned around, waiting for him to speak._

"_You said the Powers intended me to be human before. Why? What did you mean by that?"_

"_Everything happens for a reason. Events that will happen soon shall have a great significance on the future, and you're an important part of those events."_

_"What does that have to do with me being human?"_

_But the oracle did not answer his question. "Goodbye, Warrior."_

_Angel opened his eyes, feeling the pain in his head first, then his stomach. But fortunately, he seemed to be in one piece._

_"Angel!"_

_The sound of Buffy's voice was music to his ears, and Angel pushed the beam that had fallen on him aside._

_"Buffy!" Angel yelled, hoarsely._

_He doubt she heard him, so he quickened his pace, the sound of her voice guiding him out of the rubble._

* * *

Buffy came back to the bedroom, noticing the change of light immediately. It was strange to see sunlight pouring in.

She sat the tray of food on the bed, then walked over to Angel, who at the moment, still appeared to be mesmerized by the view. She wrapped her hands around his waist, kissing his tattoo.

Angel turned around and placed his arm around her. "It's so beautiful."

Outside, the sun was rising, and Buffy had to admit that yes, it was beautiful.

"What do you want to do today?" Buffy asked, smiling. "You're human. We could go out in the sunshine and stay all day if you'd like."

"I don't mind what we do, just as long as I'm with you. What do you want to do?"

"I want to go home, Angel. I want to go back to Ravello Drive."

"Oh."

Buffy watched the smile on his face fall. "Of course I want you to come with me," she said with a laugh.

The smile on his face returned.

"I want to go home. And I want to go through my mother's things. I've been putting that off for a long time, but I think I'm finally ready. Will you help me pack her things?"

Angel nodded, pulling her closer and kissing her forehead. "Of course."

* * *

Angel stood outside his mansion, marveling at how he could actually stand in the sunlight and not burn.

"Guess I'm not going to have to get you vitamin D supplements after all," Buffy said with a laugh as she joined him. "It's going to be hard to keep you out of the sun now."

"It just feels so great. I love the sun. You don't realize how much you miss it until you spend over 200 years without it."

"Yeah, it feels great," Buffy whispered, leaning forward to kiss him.

"I think we're going to head back now," Gunn announced, nodding behind him as his friends loaded up in the truck.

"I really appreciate you coming to help," Angel said, extending his hand.

Gunn smiled. "No need to thank me. In fact, I should be thanking you. Best time I've had in a while. I've never seem demon action like that in L.A."

"You should come more often then," Buffy laughed. "There's nothing like living on a Hellmouth."

"Makes life interesting, I'll give you that."

"Gunn? You have my number," Angel said. "Give me a call if you ever need a favor. I'll be only two hours away."

"I might just do that. Well, take care of yourself. I guess next time I see you, you will have aged. Enjoy the human life."

Angel smiled. "I will."

"I'll see you, Anne—I mean Buffy. Sorry, old habits are hard to break."

"Bye, Gunn. Thanks for coming."

Gunn walked over to the truck, climbing into the driver's seat. He started up the truck and waved at them through the open window before driving away.

* * *

"This is the last of the things in the closet," Angel announced as he closed up another box.

Buffy looked up briefly. "Thanks."

"Are you sure you don't want to keep any of this?" he asked, indicating the box he'd just packed.

"I'm sure. Mom would have wanted it to go to charity."

Angel walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking through this nightstand drawer. You know, you'd think my mom was one of the most organized people you'd ever met. She always kept the house neat as a pin. Everything was always clean. But secretly, she was a pack rat." Buffy opened the drawer a little further, revealing to Angel the mess inside.

Angel laughed. "We all have our vices."

"I mean, look at this. There're receipts in here from last year, bookmarks, old photographs…" Buffy reached for the photograph, one that had obviously been taken sometime this year. The moment she held the photograph in front of her, it was as if someone had turned on a light switch in her mind.

The memory floodgates were wide open, and she remembered. _She remembered! _She remembered _everything!_

Prom. Graduation. College. Riley. Angel. Her mother. _Everything._

"Oh my god."

"What's the matter?" Angel asked, concerned at the strange look on Buffy's face.

Buffy looked up at him, smiling. "Nothing. Nothing at all!"

Angel shook his head in confusion.

"I just remembered _everything_. Oh my god…I-I remember!" She started to laugh. "I can't believe it. Just all of a sudden! After months! Like the last piece of a puzzle falling into place. Angel, I have my memory back! All of it!"

She threw her arms around him, and Angel hugged her tightly.

"Buffy, that's wonderful!"

"I remember now." Buffy pulled away, staring at the photograph again. She saw her mother as she had seen her so many times before, only this time, she could remember it all. "We were going out to dinner that night. The night of the accident, I mean."

Angel reached for her hand, letting her continue.

"She wanted me to drive. I think she was planning to give the jeep to me, maybe in hopes of me visiting her more often. She said she wanted to spend some time with me, that ever since I went to college, she was feeling a little lonely. Empty nest syndrome, I guess. It's kind of ironic. I always thought her life would be easier once I was living on my own."

"Living on your own does get lonely sometimes," Angel said softly.

Buffy smiled at him. "I guess neither of us has to be lonely anymore." Buffy extended her hand, placing it next to his, their matching Claddagh rings next to each other. "By the way. I'm thinking about a December wedding."

"Anything you want," Angel said before he leaned forward and kissed her.


	71. Epilogue

A/N: Oh wow! I can't believe I finally made it here! Last chapter!

So of course, this is going to be a ridiculously long author's note, but it's the last chapter, so here goes…

Writing this story has been quite the journey for me, two years in the making, and it's been a great ride! I've often wondered to myself if I'd ever get to this moment, if I would ever get to the point where I could say this story was finished. And finally, it's here!

I want to take a moment to thank all of my readers. I'm not going to mention names here, because I'm sure I'll accidentally leave someone out, but just know that I'm extremely flattered by all of the reviews, alerts, favorites, etc. I truly did not expect the amount of reviews I received on this story. In fact, I was really nervous about posting, this being my first foray into the Buffy fandom and all, so the feedback I've received for this story has really been amazing! And as much as you have enjoyed reading this story, I have enjoyed writing it! :)

One more thing before I end this incredibly long author's note…this may be the final chapter of this story, but it's _not_ the end of my Buffy/Angel stories. I do have a few more stories in the works, including a sequel of sorts to this story. I don't, however, have any plans to write any more insanely long 71-chapter fics for quite a while though, lol. I need a serious writing break.

If you want to know when I post the sequel to this, put this story on your story alert list and I'll update it with a sequel alert. (I've seen other authors do this and I think it's a good idea!) You could also put me on your author alert list, and you'll get an email whenever I post something new. :) Or just keep checking back here at FFNET. You'll be seeing more of me soon! (After I take a _much needed_ writing break, that is!)

So until then…here is the last chapter. Enjoy it!

* * *

_Three Days Later…_

Buffy's head rested on Angel's chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. She reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, and smiled.

"Tell me something," she said, breaking the comfortable silence which had settled upon them. "What we just did? Is it better as a human or a vampire?" Buffy looked at Angel, meeting his gaze.

"Human."

"Really?"

Angel suddenly rolled over, his face inches from her. "I like feeling like my heart is about to explode out of my chest when I'm with you. It makes me feel so alive."

Buffy smiled. "You are."

"And I like how sometimes, it feels like your heart and mine are beating in time to each other."

"Yeah, that's a good feeling."

"I like how warm my skin feels, and how it feels when against yours." He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her while moving his hands down her body. "I have an idea." He gave her a smile and suddenly got out of bed.

"What are you—oh!"

Angel had picked her up and was heading to the bathroom.

"I think we should conserve water," Angel said. "Especially since I need it to live now."

He marched into the shower and placed Buffy down. Reaching for the tap, he turned the hot water on.

Angel stepped inside, wrapping his arms around her as the hot water fell onto their shoulders, soaking both of them.

"I think conserving water is a very good idea," Buffy said before kissing him.

* * *

Other than the occasional vending machine-run or saying hello to Jin Li, the Chinese takeout deliver guy, Faith hadn't seen the outside of her motel room in three days.

She had, however, seen every inch of Spike's body.

Faith stared at the ceiling, gasping for breath. "Wow. I think that's like…the best sex I've ever had in my life."

Spike propped his head up on his elbow and gazed at the woman beside him, amused. "Best ever? I thought you said you couldn't remember."

"I don't. But what we just did?" Faith gave him a wicked grin. "I think that's pretty hard to top."

"Oh I'm just warming up, luv," Spike said, and rolled over to her side of the bed.

"_Again?"_

"Vampires have a lot of stamina. You should know that by now."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I need a break!" Faith sat up, threw the sheet off her, and headed to the bathroom.

"Did I wear you out, luv?"

Faith grinned at him wickedly before closing the bathroom door behind her.

Spike rolled back to his side of the bed and laid on his back, his arms behind his head. A few seconds later, he heard the sound of the shower running, and briefly entertained the idea of joining her.

It was at that moment when Spike realized the truth of the situation: _He was falling in love with her._

Spike had to laugh to himself. Of all the people to fall in love with…_a slayer!_ And that wasn't even the craziest truth. He didn't want to kill her either. Not that he could, anyway, but even if he didn't have the bloody chip in his head, he couldn't fathom turning Faith into what he was. He liked her just how she was: wild and adventurous. And she played by her own rules, just like himself.

He was going to miss her when she was gone.

The bathroom door opened a few minutes later, and Faith emerged from the steam wearing a towel.

"You're not getting dressed are you?"

"What would be the point in that?" she said with a laugh, throwing the towel on the floor before joining him back in bed. "Your turn to be on top, Stallion."

"Let's get out this bloody stink hole."

"Well first of all, it's like ten in the morning, so we're not going anywhere. And second, no offence, but your crypt has no running water. A girl likes running water, you know."

"No, I meant let's get out of Sunnydale. We should run away together."

Faith laughed. "Sure. We'll take a bus to Mexico tonight and live off pig's blood and tequila." She gazed at Spike, but he wasn't laughing. She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her. "Oh my god. You're serious."

"We don't have to stop at Mexico you know. We could see the whole world. South America. Europe. Asia's quite nice too. We could go anywhere you want, luv."

"Spike…I can't leave."

"Sure you can."

"No, I can't. My trial is in a couple of months and if I skip town…you know this thing between us isn't long-term, right?"

"It could be."

"Look, Spike, I like you. You're the only one that's really been there for me through this whole thing. And you're great in the sack too, as you demonstrated over the past three days. But this thing between us can't last. I'm probably going to jail. And from the looks of it, I'll be there for a long time."

Spike leaned closer to her. "Listen, luv, you've got a second chance here. Do you really want to start off your new life behind bars in an orange jumpsuit? Who cares what you did in the past? You can't change it. And unlike me, you won't live forever. If I were you, I'd take life by the horns and live for the day. Come on, run away with me. The vampires and big bads aren't just here in Sunnydale. They're everywhere. And I know how much you love to fight. You're a slayer, and what good is being a slayer if you can't fight?"

"Are the jumpsuits really orange?"

"Afraid so, and it's not really your color."

"And there's no chance of me getting those conjugal visits or whatever in prison, is there?"

The corner of Spike's mouth lifted. "Don't think so, luv."

Faith paused for a moment, considering his idea, then smiled. "Then let's blow this popsicle stand."

* * *

"Make it bigger," Anya said as she looked over Willow's shoulder.

Willow clicked on the picture with the mouse and enlarged it. "Like that?"

"How about just a little bigger?"

"If I make the picture any bigger, it's going to take the website longer to load."

Xander peered over the counter and took a look at the computer screen. "Hey, An, why do you have a picture of yourself on the Magic Box's home page?"

"Because I work here, of course," Anya said, as if the answer was obvious.

"I know, but shouldn't you have like, a logo or maybe a picture of the magic shop?"

"Well I am a part of the magic shop," Anya said, growing defensive. "And I'm the most important part of it. I'm the one who takes their money and give them goods in return."

"What are you working on?" Giles asked as he walked over to the group.

Anya turned around and gave Giles a big smile. "Willow's helping me design a website for the Magic Box. Isn't that great?"

"We have a website?" He smiled. "May I see?"

"It's still a work in progress," Willow warned as she moved aside to let Giles take a gander at the screen.

Giles straightened his glasses. "This just seems to be a rather large picture of Anya."

"I know. Because I work here!" Anya continued to grin.

"Where's my picture?"

"Oh, don't worry! You're on there too!" Anya pointed to the bottom of the screen. "You see there? That picture? That's you!"

Giles had to squint his eyes to see it. "Oh right, I suppose that is me."

"I'll keep working on it," Willow said, turning her attention back to the computer.

The bell on the door jingled, and a delivery man walked inside. "Rupert Giles?"

Giles rushed over to the man dressed in brown. "Yes, I'm Rupert Giles."

"Sign here."

Giles signed the man's clipboard, then took the box from his hands.

"Have a nice day."

"Yes, you do the same." Giles stared at the box in his hands, feeling as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. "It's here! I can't believe it's finally here!"

"What's here?" Wesley asked as he walked into the shop, passing the delivery man on his way out.

"An ancient Egyptian mummy hand."

Xander threw Willow and Anya a look. "Is Giles serious?"

"Make the picture larger, Willow," Anya said, neither of them paying Xander any mind.

"You procured an ancient Egyptian mummy hand?" Wesley asked Giles, astonished.

"I had to special order it. Would you like to see?"

"Would I?" Wesley grinned from ear to ear, then followed Giles to the storeroom.

"Never a dull moment here at the Magic Box," Xander quipped.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, Xander?" Anya asked.

"I was just—never mind."

The bell on the door jingled again, and Tara walked in. "Hey, guys."

Willow grinned. "Hey, sweetie."

"Hey, Xander, I have something for you." Tara placed a flyer on the counter. "There's an apartment for rent not too far from campus. I thought if that apartment you wanted didn't work out, you might be interested in this one."

Anya gave Xander a confused look. "You didn't tell them yet?"

"Tell us what?" Tara asked.

Xander smiled. "I got the apartment."

"Oh that's great news!" Tara said.

"Xander! That's great! Why didn't you tell us?" Willow asked.

"Well, I wanted to wait until the whole group is here, but whole group is never here anymore, so I'm telling you guys now. You girls want to help me pack up the basement?"

"He can move in as soon as next week!" Anya said. "This is going to be so great. No more parents upstairs fighting. No more folding laundry for Xander's mother. And no more unexpected visits from Uncle Rory! He always tends to interrupt us when we're having sex."

Xander laughed, choosing not to tell Anya that his Uncle Rory mentioned wanting to check out his new place sometime.

"Well since you guys obviously don't need it, Willow, do you want to check it out this afternoon?" Tara handed the flyer to Willow.

"Sure," Willow said as she looked over the flyer. "Oh wait, does it allow pets?"

"Cats are okay. We might not want to mention Amy though."

"And the rent?"

"It's not too bad, especially if we split it two ways. And if we get a third roommate for the second bedroom it'll be even cheaper. Do you think Cordelia might be interested?"

"Maybe. Let's see if she wants to check it out with us."

"So wait, you two are moving out of Casa Summers?" Xander asked, looking from Willow to Tara.

Tara nodded. "Buffy and Angel really need their own place."

"Did they kick you out?" Anya asked.

Tara glanced briefly at Willow. "No, it's just that we haven't been getting much sleep lately. Buffy decided to move into her mother's old bedroom because it's bigger, but unfortunately it's closer to our room."

"And we hear _everything_," Willow added.

"Plus it has a bigger bed."

"Which they've been using. A lot."

"Not to mention the shower." Tara turned to Willow. "Oh my god, did you hear them this morning?"

"I think everyone in Sunnydale heard them."

Anya looked from Willow to Tara. "Oh, so you mean they've been having a lot of sex?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah. They've pretty much been going at it like bunnies for three days now."

"Thanks for that visual, Will," Xander said sarcastically.

"Yeah, really. Why did you have to bring bunnies into it?" Anya complained.

"Anya, why do bunnies terrify you so badly?" Tara asked out of curiosity.

"I had a traumatic experience with a bunny, and I don't want to talk about it!" With that, Anya left the counter and headed to the back room.

Xander watched as she left the room and couldn't help but smile. "God I love that woman."

* * *

Cordelia was on her way to the Magic Box when the building next door caught her eye. Inside, a woman was placing a sign in the window.

FOR LEASE

555-5839

A smile came to Cordelia's face as an idea came to her. She peered inside, noting that it appeared to be an empty office space, and a rather large one too. As the woman, probably from the realtor's office, stepped outside and began locking up, Cordelia got her attention. "Excuse me?"

The woman locking the door turned around. "Yes?"

"I couldn't help but notice that 'For Lease' sign you just put in the window."

The woman smiled brightly. "Are you interested?"

"Yeah, maybe. Is there any way I could take a little peek inside?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." The woman unlocked the door and allowed Cordelia to go through. "If you're thinking about opening a small business, this place would be great for just about anything. It has a lot of space as you can see."

A quick glance around was all Cordelia needed to know this place had potential. "Can this place accommodate multiple phone lines and computers?"

"Yes, absolutely. This place used to be some kind of ad agency, and before that, I think it was an insurance office. There's also a storeroom in the back. I can show you."

Cordelia followed the woman to the back where she led her to a huge storage area.

"Wow. This room would be great for storing all of Angel and Wesley's wea—" _weapons. _She almost said weapons. "Books!" she said instead. "Wesley and Angel have a lot of books."

"Are you and your friends thinking about opening a book store?" the woman asked out of curiosity.

"No. It's a detective agency." _Among other things._

"Well, if you're seriously thinking about it, I feel I should warn you. Business on this side of town has been going downhill lately. About the only place that seems to have any kind of success is that magic shop next door. And unfortunately, there's all kinds of questionable characters that hang around that place after hours. Are you sure you're still interested?"

Cordelia smiled. "Actually, I think that's right up our alley. How much is rent?"

* * *

There were times when Angel momentarily forgot he was human.

He'd grab his cover blanket before heading out in broad daylight. Simply a force of habit, until he reminded himself that the sunlight wouldn't kill him anymore.

He was still getting used to seeing his reflection in the mirror, for it had been over two hundred years when seeing nothing had been the norm.

During patrol last night, he attempted to put on his vampire face to startle an enemy, only to realize a moment later that his face wasn't changing at all. It wasn't that he missed being a vampire, but old habits were hard to break.

"Are you about ready to go?"

Buffy's voice pulled him away from his thoughts. He turned around, seeing her come down the stairs. She wore some flowery wrap-around skirt with a matching bikini top.

Angel looked her over, feeling his breath catch in his throat. The feeling of his heart accelerating was another reminder. _You're human now. _"Wow, you look….wow."

Buffy laughed as she sauntered over to him. "It's amazing this power I have."

Angel wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "What?"

"You see a Durslar demon at Haagen-Dazs and you beat it to a bloody pulp and rip its head off in the process, but the sight of me in a bikini and you nearly lose it. Look, you can barely catch your breath. It's amazing this power I have over you."

"Yeah…amazing," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

"We're never going to get to the beach if we keep doing this," Buffy said, reluctantly pulling away.

"Let's skip the beach," Angel said, pulling her back. "The ocean's not going anywhere, and we have the house to ourselves."

"No. We're going to have a good time, I promise. Believe it or not, there are actually ways to have fun that involve us keeping our clothes on."

"Alright, if you say so."

"Have you put on sunscreen yet?"

Angel smiled at her. "No, I forgot. Do I really need it?"

Buffy had to laugh. "_You?_ Yeah, you really do. You won't exactly burst into flames, but you will get burned. You'll go from pale to lobster in no time."

Angel picked up the bottle of sunscreen from the coffee table. "How much of this stuff do I put on?" he asked.

Buffy laughed again. "Here, let me. Turn around."

Angel handed her the bottle and turned around.

"This might be cold," she said before rubbing the lotion onto his back. Angel jumped at the touch, making Buffy laugh again. "I warned you."

"I get to do this to you next, right?" he asked.

"Twenty minutes later, the two had finally made it to the beach. Summer was winding down, and fortunately for them, it wasn't too crowded today.

Angel had only seen the ocean in the daylight once; the day he wore the Gem of Amarra. He paused for a moment, taking in the beauty of the Pacific. He'd never take something like this for granted.

"Let's sit by the water," Buffy said, taking his hand and practically running to the spot she saw.

Angel sat down in his beach chair, sinking his toes into the sand, marveling at how wonderful it felt, and Buffy did the same.

"Whoa, déjà vu," Buffy said.

"What?"

"I think I had a dream about us doing this. Does that ever happen to you sometimes? You're just sitting there and all of a sudden, you feel like you've seen this scene before?"

Angel gave her a smile. "Sometimes. Were we…kissing in this dream?"

"I don't remember." Buffy stood up and moved to sit in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a smile. "But I'm thinking about kissing you now."

**THE END**

Thanks again for reading, everyone! Reviews are much loved! :)

**SEQUEL ALERT: Check out my profile to read more of my Buffy/Angel stories, including the story that follows this one. It's called "Life in Nine Months". It's pretty much just an 11-chapter fluff piece...ha! Enjoy! :)  
**


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